


Let Me Love You

by Erevae



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Feels, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2018-09-25 19:56:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9841577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erevae/pseuds/Erevae
Summary: In a world where everyone dreams of their soulmate in a moment in their future they will share with their special person, not knowing who her soulmate is has been beating Yang down. Five years of dreaming and she was no closer to an answer. But hey, plenty of people live happy lives without their soulmates... right? She had her friends, she had her family, and she had school. Everything would work out just fine... if only she could stop pining over the black cat ears that haunted her dreams.





	1. The Most Important Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so, fair and fore-warning, I have not written anything good in a very long time. I'm going to endeavour to make this fic as good as I can get it, so by all means send me all the criticism. I'll take it all on board and do the best I can to continually improve my writing.

_Sunlight shone through the large, open windows. Heavy drapes were tied off to the sides of the window, for some dust unknown reason. Winter surrounded the island of Patch, gusts continually blowing snow and ice around the island. One such gust blew through the window and into the open house, ruffling the pages of a book. Pale fingers were quick to still them so their owner’s eyes could continue the adventure stored within the pages._

_Yang couldn’t fathom why the window was open, letting all the warmth of the house escape. She would have immediately closed it were it not for the much more important task currently at hand._

_Making her way quietly through the house, quite uncharacteristically of her to do so, Yang’s mischievous streak started to shine through. She didn’t want the figure currently wrapped up in blankets on one of the couches in the living room to know she was there. Black hair was mostly hidden by pillows, stacked against the arm of the couch in such a way that made the position comfortable and supporting for the one sitting in it._

_She stopped, gaze fixed on the figure on the couch. All playful thoughts vanished as her eyes remained locked on them. She knew nothing about this person, except that the feeling of pure joy that filled her chest whenever she looked at them was love. She was in love and she was never going to let that go. Yang could feel her heartbeat, uncertain whether it would speed up with excitement or slow down with contentment. In a way, it was trying to do both._

_A flustered feeling rushed through her as she stared at this person. It wasn’t like her to feel flustered. She’d had to be confident, and feeling the way she did when she looked at the figure, knowing what they were, was liberating in a way. No pretences, no facades, no masks. No requirements of character, just, Yang. She could be just Yang with this person. The prospect was frightening._

_Eyes focusing on the top of the person’s head, she came to a decision, mischievous thoughts returning and a smile coming onto her face. Doing her best to move as quiet as a cat… wait… as something ‘quieter’ than a cat, Yang snuck up on the mysterious person who was her soulmate._

_“Don’t you dare.”_

_Yang froze, her left arm outstretched, fingertips inches from a pair of soft looking black cat ears. She had been sure her soulmate’s attention had been captured in the open book, “But…”_

_“No.”_

_“But,” Her hand slowly moved forwards, almost caressing the short black fur that covered the outside of those two adorable ears. She was so close. If she could just get her soulmate to turn around._

_“I said n-.” The monotone voice which had echoed in her mind for the last five years was cut off, as with a pounding heart, Yang’s fingers closed the gap and lightly stroked those ears. A purr broke the sudden silence in the room and Yang felt her face flush at the reaction. A rustle sounded as hair moved against pillows as her soulmate turned to face her. Yang felt her heart in her throat, a flurry of emotions running through her. It was about to happen, it was really about to-._

_A sharp, high pitched beeping sound invaded her world, the house collapsing around her._

In a flash, Yang Xiao Long was sitting up in her bedroom, hair messed up from sleep. A tear collected itself in her eye and spilled out, sliding down her face. She absolutely hated her alarm clock right then. If it wasn’t so important to her life, she’d have hurled it out of the window and watched it as it fell five stories to smash apart on the pavement.

She closed her eyes, trying to will herself back to sleep, back to the dream. Her heart constricted as she mentally snatched at the fading images of her dream, as though she could somehow get a hold of them and pull herself back in. Sucking in a deep breath, Yang opened her eyes, gazing blankly in front of her, her mind reliving the past few moments. The feeling that burned in her chest, the fiery desire, an incessant need to know the rest of that dream, ached.

Everyone has a dream about their soulmate at some point in their life, and from that point on, the dreams never stop. Some people got them every night, others would go several nights between them, but for most people it varied from day to day, week to week. The dream was always the same moment, some distant time in their future, the future they’d have with their soulmate if they ever met. Soulmates were also known to have different dreams to one another, each seeing a different moment in their potential future.

Just because someone was your soulmate, doesn’t mean you spend the rest of your life with them. Some people’s soulmates died before they met them, others were on opposite sides of the world and never met. Others didn’t work for other reasons, be they family or otherwise. But the biggest problem for Yang, was that sometimes, the dream never gave a name, or showed a face, which to date, Yang’s never had.

At first, the dreams had been exciting, but after years of never knowing who her soulmate was, Yang just felt sad. Whenever the identity of her soulmate was within her grasp it was yanked away. Emotion grew in her chest until it felt like she’d explode trying to contain it all. She silenced the alarm, damn near destroying the offending item which was responsible for the latest prevention of soulmate identification.

Yang didn’t know whether they were male or female, the monotone voice in her dream never specified, and their body was wrapped in blankets. She didn’t even have a name, not even a dust damned name. She did know that her soulmate was Faunus though, the cat ears was evidence enough of that.

Blankets and sheets rustled as Yang pulled her legs up to her chest. She wouldn’t cry, not anymore. She’d done enough crying in her time. With a deep and shaky breath, Yang swung her legs out of her bed and stood up. Clothes were strewn around the place, seemingly thoughtlessly tossed aside whenever their owner shed them. However, Yang had a method to her madness. She knew exactly where everything was, what was clean and what wasn’t. She just really needed to organise it and make it neat.

‘I’ll do it later,’ she thought, grabbing some clean clothes in her usual colour scheme of yellow, orange, and brown. Brown jacket, orange tank top, black short shorts, black fingerless gloves, and aviator sunglasses. After pulling her boots on over orange socks, she walked to the bathroom she shared with her sister, knocking rather loudly on said sister’s door as she passed it,

“Come on Rubes! Wake up!” For someone with so much energy, you’d think she’d be up before her more laid back sister.

Daily routine in Yang’s apartment was as follows; wake up, get dressed, wake Ruby up, wash up, wake Ruby up again, make and eat breakfast, make and pack lunches, make sure Ruby washes up (both herself and the dishes), and get them both out the door and to Uni.

Yang glared simultaneously witheringly and lovingly, at the mass of deep blonde, almost golden curls that cascaded down her back. She picked up a brush to try and order her unruly mass of hair into a more organised form. As she brushed that hair, her mind couldn’t help wondering what her soulmate’s hair felt like. Was it soft like hers? Would it even require the amount of brushing hers did? Questions such as these often haunted Yang after she’d had the dream again. Fifteen minutes of struggling against her hair and she’d done it. Well, mostly done it, she had a cowlick that refused to budge, no matter what she or anyone else did to it.

Softly sighing, Yang pulled herself away from the mirror and exited the bathroom, knocking loudly on Ruby’s door again. This time, she heard a soft groan of protest, marking her baby sister waking up.

‘Baby’ wasn’t really the right word to describe Ruby. At eighteen years, she was hardly a baby, but to Yang, she always would be. Yang was halfway to the kitchen when Ruby’s door opened. The small, red-tipped black haired girl stood and yawned, shuffling to the bathroom in her pyjamas. Yang gave her five minutes before she was her usual hyperactive self and seemingly bouncing off the walls.

Exactly five minutes had passed when one Ruby Rose flew into the kitchen, somehow fully dressed, and sat down at the counter. At no point in her entire life did Yang think anyone could possibly pull off a bright red cape, but her sister did. The heroes in the stories Ruby loved wore capes, and their mother had made her one when she was a little girl. Ten years on, Ruby still wore the cape, along with her usual outfit of black and red skirt, white décolletage blouse, black boots, and black stockings. Among normally dressed people, Ruby and Yang looked like quite the pair.

“Good morning sis!” She called, her voice humming with energy. Yang laughed as she continued her task of cooking breakfast. She and Ruby shared an apartment in Vale while they attended Beacon University. It was nothing like their home on Patch though, and neither of them passed up chances to visit their father at home.

Yang’s smile faded somewhat as she thought of Taiyang. When their mother, Summer, had died when Yang was ten, Taiyang had withdrawn into himself. For the longest time, Yang thought she’d have to take care of Ruby herself. She did, for a few years, before their uncle Qrow had a very pointed conversation with a very drunk Tai. Neither of them talked about what went down then, and it was best left unsaid, but since that day Tai had started acting like a father again.

“Yang!”

Ruby’s voice jolted Yang out of her memory musing, and she quickly turned the stove off to get the eggs and bacon out of the pan before they burned. She once again found herself thinking about her soulmate. Did they like bacon and eggs too? ‘Possibly not,’ she thought, ‘but I bet they’ll like tuna.’ Her brow drew in to form a frown as she once again realised how much she didn’t know about her soulmate. Faunus, likes books, has black hair. That was it, nothing more.

“Sorry Rubes.”

“It’s okay!” Her sister replied cheerfully, looking carefully at her face. “Did you have the dream again?” Her sister’s voice was both concerned and curious.

“Yeah, I did.” Yang hated the way her voice sounded when she talked about her soulmate dream, a sorrowful, longing tone. “Still nothing.”

“Hey, he or she likes books! So, that narrows your search down quite a bit! Time to hit all the bookstores in Vale!” That was so like Ruby, always the optimist. Yang chuckled softly at the comment, shaking her head at her sister.

“That’s what you said last time Ruby.”

“And I’m still right.” Silver eyes were alight with happiness.

“Dork.”

“You love me.”

Once again, Ruby was right. Yang loved her sister completely. After Summer’s death, Yang swore that she would do everything in her power to be there for Ruby, to be everything she needed. She swore to pick Ruby up whenever she fell, and that she’d fix everything that went wrong for them.

Ruby gave Yang a more earnest look, eyes curious now. “In all seriousness though, tell me more about it.”

Yang shrugged her shoulders softly, “I’ve already told you about my dream a thousand times.” Truth be told, Yang always felt a little depressed whenever she started talking about her soulmate dream. It was silly, she knew, but it was just the way she felt. More reminders of how hopeless it all seemed. Her dream hadn’t gotten longer in two years. They were supposed to get longer, she was supposed to learn more! But she never did. She so desperately wanted to meet her soulmate.

After five years, Yang was one hundred percent certain that it was possible to love and miss something you’d never had. The last two years of her life had proven that morning after morning. But Ruby asked her, and at no point in her life could Yang have said no to Ruby when she knew Ruby could pout with those silver eyes of hers and make Yang’s resolve crumble.

Yang started plating up their breakfast while she answered her sister, “I’m at home, in Patch, just like always. It’s winter and… they’re there, on the couch in the living room, the one Dad always falls asleep on. They’re reading so intently, I can just tell they’re a bookworm. My heart feels fluttery and I feel so… so happy when I see them. I can’t begin to explain the feeling I get.”

Taking a deep breath, her voice becoming soft like the tender caresses passed between lovers, or in this case, soulmates, Yang continued, “They’ve got the most adorable cat ears. Black as night and so soft looking. They feel like velvet.”

Ruby could easily tell her sister was smitten with simply the idea of a soulmate. Yang was so in love with her mystery life-partner, despite knowing nothing about them. But there was something far more important than commenting on her sister’s love for Ruby to say, “You’ve been feeling Velvet?”

Ruby was so deadpan as she said it that Yang took a moment to be shocked as her mind struggled to process what her sister said and come up with a timely response.

“I… you… no! I have not been feeling Velvet! I would never-.”

Velvet Scarlatina was their only Faunus friend at Beacon. In fact, the timid, quiet, rabbit eared girl was their only Faunus friend anywhere. She’d moved to Vale from Menagerie two years ago, after being accepted into Beacon the same time Yang was. Rumour had it that Velvet already knew who her soulmate was, but refused to tell anyone except her best friend, Yatsuhashi. No matter how much their group of friends pressed her, Velvet never gave up and neither did Yatsuhashi.

Yang thought she was embarrassed about who it was. The fact that she was right made her light teasing towards Velvet all the more effective, able to bring the Faunus to a blushing mess within a couple sentences. The only other person with that power was the most fashionable of their group, Coco Adel. The fashion queen, and undoubtedly the most loaded person they knew when it came to money, had this effect on Velvet none of their circle of friends could explain.

“I know, I know. I’m just teasing you.” Ruby barely managed to not burst into laughter at Yang’s reaction. It was rare that the red caped girl scored a verbal hit on her quick-witted sister. Yang rolled her eyes at Ruby and brought the plates of food over.

“Breakfast is served.”

“Thank Oum I was starving!”

Yang chuckled at that, “Yeah, for cookies.”

Silver eyes stared at her with mock hurt, “How dare you insinuate that?”

Lilac eyes laughed back at Ruby, “Because we both know it’s true.”

No one in Remnant had a sweet tooth like Ruby, and Yang loved her for it. No one in their family would be surprised if Ruby could eat her body weight in cookies, despite the physical impossibilities of that occurring.

Throwing the pans and cooking utensils into the sink, she sat next to her sister at the counter and ate quickly with her. Their apartment was small. One bathroom, kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and a small laundry between them. Once plain, white walls were now riddled with pictures and posters as the girls personalised their apartment. A beige couch with orange and red pillows sat in the living room facing their TV. Books were spilling out of the solitary, small bookshelf in the corner that served as a repository for both comics and textbooks alike.

It wasn’t too expensive rent wise, and Yang found the costs easy to cover with her part time work at a local martial arts dojo and her sister’s casual job at a mechanics. Ruby had an innate talent for building mechanical things, a concept Yang had never grasped herself.

“Aw man we’re gonna be late for class!”

Yang’s lilac eyes shot up at Ruby’s words, fixing on the clock hanging on the living room wall. The clock’s hands marked the time as seven twenty.

“My lecture starts at eight!” Ruby said worriedly.

With a 30-minute drive to Beacon, they both wolfed down their food in record time, throwing the plates into the sink for washing up. Boots sounded on hardwood floors as the sisters scrabbled for their bags and to get out the front door to make it to Beacon in time for their class.

Almost tearing the door off its hinges in her hurry to get it open and her sister out, Yang narrowly avoided putting a hole in their wall with the door handle.

Yang had been fashionably late to just about every class she had for the past two years before Ruby started attending Beacon with her. Ruby, who’d constantly contested Yang’s position as ‘most commonly late to class’, decided that they should probably make their morning lectures on time.

Locking the door behind them, Yang almost ran down the hall, pushing her caped little sister into an elevator, hitting the button for the basement. It was when they were over halfway down that Yang realised she’d forgotten to make lunches for her sister and herself.

“Uhh… Rubes…”

“Yeah?”

“I…” Yang tucked a lock of gold hair behind her ear, “I forgot to make our lunch.”

Ruby shrugged, “It’s alright, we can get food at Beacon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that was all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast. It's a bit exposition heavy but I hope you guys like it anyway.


	2. The Gang and a Splash of Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang was prepared for a regular day of being late to class and meeting her friends for lunch, however something throws a wrench in that preparation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another mad woman's breakfast, for those who ordered. Don't ask me for a recipe, I started throwing things in at random.

Yang missed half a dozen speeding related fines by the skin of her teeth on her way to Beacon University in the north of the Vale city.  It was easy enough to forget speed limits when she could feel Bumblebee, her beloved motorcycle, humming beneath her as she weaved through traffic. However, her and her sister’s impending tardiness to morning lectures were cause enough. Seeming to fly over the ground, and getting lucky with several sets of traffic lights, the normally thirty-minute trip took them twenty-five minutes. While five minutes isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of Remnant, it was enough time for Yang to stow Bumblebee up properly and for the sisters to make it to classes without pulling any muscles running there.

The sky was bright blue and clear, with no signs of rain. That was good, as Yang had also forgotten to bring her umbrella.

“Frey’s to the left, I’ll see you for lunch!” Ruby called as she turned away from Yang, heading towards Frey. The building was large and grey, stylised in sharp angles and straight lines with lots of big, glass windows. Beacon’s robotics and mechanics faculty was housed within, the facility ideal for someone of Ruby’s… abilities.

A small smile came on to Yang’s face as she watched the red cape flap in the wind as her sister shot towards her first lecture. Seeing Ruby’s haste galvanised Yang into action, causing her to make a beeline for the building housing her first lectures of the day, Soron. Yang burst into the building, almost running to her designated lecture room. She was five minutes late, and the lecturer she had did not appreciate tardiness.

Yang shot past classroom doors, offices, student spaces, and vending machines in her hurry to make it to class without being anymore late than she already was. The hallways were emptying rather quickly as students entered rooms, but Yang still had to dodge people on her zig-zag path through Soron. She rounded a corner and narrowly avoided colliding with someone laden with books. She breathed a sigh of relief at managing to avoid knocking the poor person and their books to the floor. Yang saw her lecture room on the left and hitched her backpack higher on her back, only one strap around a shoulder.

She was halfway through the door into her lecture theatre when something caught her gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, she snagged a splash of black in the pristine white halls. Black hair. Hair that she swore she’d been staring at for the last five years in her dreams. Something resembling cat ears sat atop the obsidian wave that cascaded down the outside of a white jacket on a slim frame, distinctly feminine, ending at shoulder length.

The fact was confirmed a moment later, as the figure turned to enter a nearby classroom. Sharp, almost feline features framed by ebony hair, pale skin and soft looking lips. Yang wouldn’t have doubted it if someone had told her the gods themselves had created that girl’s face.

_‘Oh my dust.’_

She was absolutely beautiful.

A voice cut through her reverie,

“Ms Xiao Long, planning on,” There was a break in the voice, and the sound of aggressive sipping, “standing in the doorway all class?”

Yang snapped her gaze to the lecturer, a distracted apology in her eyes, “I’m sorry Professor Oobleck.”

Yang looked out the door again, but whomever she had seen was gone. A click echoed through the hallway as a door two classrooms down closed. ‘They must have gone in,” Yang thought to herself.

“It’s _Doctor_ ,” Oobleck corrected, pausing to take another sip from his ever-present coffee thermos, “Take a seat, Ms Xiao Long, lest you miss more of my class.”

Yang nodded again, making her way to the closest seat to the door that was available. She didn’t have far to walk as most of the lecture theatre was empty. It was a rather small class after all. The temptation to run out of the room and dash down the hall to see if the woman she saw was really her soulmate was almost too much.

_‘Keep it cool Yang.’_

Sitting, Yang pulled out a notebook and pen, not that she ever took notes, but the movement was automatic, her mind in a far-away place throughout the entire lecture. Everything that _Doctor_ Oobleck covered in the lecture went right over her head. If anyone had asked her what it was about, she wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Her mind was spinning circles.

_‘Did I just see my soulmate? Have they gone to the same University as me for the past two years? Am I the most blind person in Remnant?’_

About halfway through, and holding true to the blindest person on Remnant, Yang felt a tap on her shoulder as someone sat down next to her. The bright pink skirt told her who it was before she even looked up. One Nora Valkyrie had seated herself and was uncomfortably close as she studied Yang’s face. Before her overly energetic friend could do anything, a hand appeared on the orange haired girl’s shoulder and pulled her back from Yang. Before she could thank her saviour, Nora spoke, her voice pitched low and accusing,

“What is going on with you,” she pointed a finger at Yang, “that you have neglected to tell us?”

Nora sounded offended, and Yang had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. The feeling of confusion as to what in Remnant Nora was on about must have showed on her face, because the person seated next to Nora leaned over slightly. Unsurprisingly, it was Ren, Nora’s ever-present companion. Actually, it was the other way around, Nora was more Ren’s ever-present companion, following him around like a lost puppy half the time. Although, Yang had to admit, it was hard to be a ‘lost’ puppy when the person you were following was your soulmate.

They were considered rather lucky by most. They’d been the best of friends before discovering they were soulmates. Orphans at a young age, they had only each other for comfort, support, and just about everything else you could think of.

The quiet, softly spoken Lie Ren spoke with a measure of concern, “You’ve been staring into space for the last thirty minutes, we were wondering if you were okay.”

Yang's mind started reeling as she grasped at all the explanations she could come up with that didn't give away what she really thought she had seen. She didn't want to get her hopes up and once Nora knew something, everyone in their little circle of friends knew it. 

"I..." she began, then seeing the look on Ren's face, as if he knew she was about to try and lie, she knew fooling him was damn near impossible. 

"It's alright Yang, you can tell us."

"Yeah! You can tell us! Well maybe not me, but definitely Ren, who'll tell me anyway-"

"No I won't."

"-and I'll find out that way."

Suppressing the smile that threatened to break out onto her face as she watched the byplay between the pair was harder than she thought. Taking a deep breath, she started again,

"I think I saw them."

Nora frowned, tilting her head, "Saw who?"

"My soulmate."

Oum bless Ren's reflexes, as he had seen Nora's rapid intake of breath and slapped a hand over her mouth before she could yell at the top of her lungs in the middle of the lecture. Instead, all Yang heard was heavily muffled complaining. 

Yang shot Nora a look that said, _'Be quiet before Oobleck kills us,'_ before continuing in her explanation. 

"So, I never told you guys, but my soulmate is a Faunus, and based on today, I think they're a girl."

"But you're not-, don’t bite me Nora,’ you’re not sure?" Ren asked, hand still over Nora's mouth. 

Yang shook head, “No I’m like, ninety-nine percent sure.”

Before either of her could friends could say anything about the single percentage gap in her surety, Yang continued,

“Look I'm going to find now. The lecture is almost over, we only have a three-hour practical to finish as part of this class and she's just down the hall. I can catch her before we all meet up for lunch. Every class in this building runs for four hours in the morning anyway so, it’s not like I’ll miss her after class. I’ll just walk up to her and say…” Yang trailed off. She hadn’t actually taken the time to think through what she would say to her soulmate.

“And say…?” Ren asked. Nora tilted her head questioningly. Her turquoise eyes were only questioning for about two seconds before focusing on the hand over her lips. An evil light started to glow within them.

“I don’t know. I’ll wing it.”

Whatever Nora had planned was suddenly derailed as Ren removed the seal from her lips. Accepting that Doctor Oobleck would kill her if she started yelling in his lecture and having gotten over Yang’s revelations somewhat, Nora simply copied Ren’s look of ‘are you serious?’ Yang opposed the looks she got from her friends with her trademark sunny smile, confident tilt to her shoulders.

“Don’t worry, I got this.”

Her words kept echoing through her mind as she exited the classroom and walked in the direction she’d seen her soulmate go to class. Her heart fell a little as she saw no one there. Moments later it picked up again as she glimpsed the white jacket, cat ears, and black hair walking towards one of the University’s food halls. The very same food hall that her circle of friends was set to gather at.

Entering through the large double doors, she looked desperately around for the girl. Before she could continue her search, one Coco Adel walked up,

“You’re late.”

“I just got out of class.”

“I don’t care, I was hungry five minutes ago, come on.”

Before she could protest she was dragged to the table where Ruby, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Fox, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune. Coco pushed her into a chair, then took her own seat in the chair next to Yang.

“Hey sis!” Ruby said, smiling brightly at her sister. Yang couldn’t help but smile back. Ruby’s irrepressible cheerfulness was always heartening.

“Heya Rubes.”

Yang winked at Velvet in greeting, gave a short hello to Fox and Yatsu, and didn’t bother saying hello to Pyrrha and Jaune. They were another soulmate pair, and from the looks of it, they were too lost in each other in that moment to register her greeting, so she didn’t bother. She looked away from them before their ‘lovey dovey’ behaviour ignited her teasing traits.

Instead, her gaze shifted to the surrounding room, still looking for her soulmate. She must be in the food hall somewhere, if only she looked hard enough. Once again, as though the world took special interest in interfering with her soulmate and herself, something came between them. That something was food, and food just couldn’t wait at the moment.

The group got stuck in to eating. Yatsuhashi had at least double the food everyone else did, which made sense given he was almost double the size of everyone else. Velvet was helping Fox find things to eat. Her gentle, caring nature and limitless patience made her helping the blind boy effortless for her. Yang caught Coco watching the exchange, an unreadable expression on her face. Resolving to ask her what was up later, Yang shifted her gaze, continuing to look around their group of friends. She caught her sister looking at her carefully again, like she was in the morning.

Suddenly, Ruby was next to her, “What’s wrong? You get a bad grade again?”

Yang raised an eyebrow at her red caped companion, “Why do you always assume that it’s a bad grade?”

“I don’t always assume… but it’s because it’s always true.”

Yang definitely caught the teasing note in her sister’s voice then, “Oh shut up.”

“Make me.”

Yang made a noncommittal grunt in response.

“Spill it.”

Turning a mock baleful eye on her sister, she pursed her lips, “You won’t give this up until I spill, will you?”

“Nope.”

Dropping the false annoyance and letting her excitement about what she had seen before and after class break through, Yang lowered her voice conspiratorially, “I saw them, my soulmate.”

Silver eyes grew just as excited, “You did?!”

“Black hair, cat ears, and she’s beautiful.”

A sceptical look stole onto her sister’s face, “Is that all you have to go on? Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, but lots of people have black hair, and there are a lot of cat Faunus. Are you sure?”

“Ninety-nine percent. I just have this feeling that my soulmate is close, and I saw her, like she was right out of my dream.”

Ruby now had a goofy smile on her face, “Well, where is she?”

“In here somewhere.”

Instantly Ruby was looking around. It took Yang a few seconds to get her sister’s attention back, “Whoa, whoa, slow down sis, don’t be obvious about it. I don’t know where in here they are, but I’m going to find them and talk to them.”

“What are you going to say?”

“What’s Yang going to say to who?” Coco asked, injecting herself into the conversation.

“Nothing to no-one.” Yang responded without thinking, the automatic answer people have to an interruption.

“Her soulmate.” Ruby responded.

“Ooooh, the firecracker found her soulmate huh?” Coco peered at Yang over her sunglasses, smirk on her face. The beret that was seemingly glued to Coco’s head contained some of her dark brown hair, however the lock dyed orange was free as always.

“Oh shut up!”

“Are they hot?”

“ _She_ , is gorgeous.” Yang put stress on the ‘she’, for reasons she didn’t quite understand herself.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

That was Coco, ever the looks and fashion critic. Given Coco designed clothes, it was quite fitting for her to take the role. Yang simply laughed at that, reaching over to take a mouthful of water. As she drank, her eyes fell on black hair and cat ears with a white coat.

“Ruby.”

Her sister looked over at the sound of her name. Yang nodded in the direction she was facing as a way to point without physically making the action. Silver eyes flicked over, zeroing in on the intended target.

“Her?”

“Yes.”

“Then what are you still doing here Yang? Go. Now.”

“But,”

“Now.”

“Fine.”

Yang pushed herself up, smiling nonchalantly at the curious looks she got from her friends.

_‘You got this Yang. Everything’s gonna go great. Just think, you won’t be alone anymore.’_

With quick strides, she began making her way over to the girl, deftly threading her way through the sea of tables, chairs, and students that filled the hall. Shoulders back, smile on her face, steady pace and confident stride, Yang was the image of determination. Inside however, was a completely different story. The only person in the world who knew what would be going on inside her at that very moment was Ruby, and she could almost feel her sister’s eyes on her. No doubt she would have informed the rest of the table as to the reason for Yang’s sudden departure and the direction she was walking.

It was weird. Time seemed to slow down as her heart beat faster. The hammering of her pulse in her ears grew louder as she saw them get up from their table, tossing their hair over their shoulder. They waved a goodbye to the people they’d been sitting with and started heading for the closest exit. Yang changed direction to intercept her.

_‘It’s happening. It’s really happening.’_

As Yang got closer and closer to the woman, she saw more details. Their hair was thick, falling in soft curls down to their shoulders. Slim but strong frame, with their clothes fitting perfectly. Yang closed her eyes, remembering the voice she’d heard in her dreams for five years, the voice of silk and barely concealed humour, the voice she had fallen in love with. She could hear the monotone words, ‘Don’t you dare’, and she felt her heartbeat accelerate even faster. Lilac eyes opening once again, she gazed back at the woman’s back, only a few meters from her.

Quickening her pace, Yang came up to her in a matter of seconds, nervously brushing her thick mane of golden hair over her shoulders. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure she could do this. They were right there, just as she’d always wished they were, but now that they actually were there, Yang hesitated.

_‘You are Yang Xiao Long, you can do this!’_

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and shaking hands, ignoring the veritable maelstrom of emotions she could feel growing in her chest, she reached out a hand. With a light tap to the girl’s shoulder, Yang threw her most confident voice on, “Excuse me.”

Admittedly, not what she wanted to say. In the heat of the moment, her mind went blank and she scrabbled for the first thing that came to mind, which ended up being her manners. Her mother would be so proud. As her soulmate turned around, Yang started freaking out internally. Was her hair okay? Did she look presentable? Were her clothes too strange? Was she too confident looking?

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her face, the fine, angular lines there. Curious green eyes locked onto her lilac eyes. A sweet voice spoke, polite, attentive, and questioning, “Yes?”

Yang’s world ground to a halt.

_‘No…’_

_‘No, no, no.’_

_‘Why?’_

Her voice. It was wrong.

Yang could never remember missing and longing for the voice of silk and humour more in her life.

“Hello?” That sweet voice rang in her ears again, but no matter how hard Yang strained, it contained no trace of the familiar silkiness she loved.

Yang shook her head aggressively to clear it, “I-I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else…” Up this close to the girl, Yang could see her ears were not cat’s ears. They were more solid, rougher, like a panther’s ears.

The girl smiled politely at her as she started walking away, “It’s alright. Have a good day. I hope you find who you’re looking for.”

“Thanks, me too.”

Disappointment and defeat reached every part of Yang’s being in that moment. Her heart hadn’t felt like this in years, she’d forgotten what it felt like to have her heart broken.

_‘You were so close…’_

Just like all her dreams. Whenever she was about to find out who her soulmate was, and now when she thought she was about to meet them, it was snatched away. Yang clenched her fist, feeling the overwhelming urge to hit something. A few tears collected in her eyes, making them shine, and she was thankful none of her friends were close enough to see them. She knew they were watching, but unbeknownst to her, there was another set of eyes on her.

Across the food hall, a pair of amber eyes had grown wide, locked onto the girl with the sun in her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it seems thrown together. Been all over the place lately and I didn't have too much time to put it all together. I hope you guys like it and it's not too... simple or bad.
> 
> As always, I love feedback and criticism, so lay it on me.


	3. The Love of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang takes out her frustrations while our mysterious set of amber eyes gets revealed.

Like a deer Faunus in the headlights, she was frozen. Not a single one of her muscles listened to her. All her life, her brain had control, not her heart. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

Her heart doggedly refused to give ground, keeping her feet rooted to the floor.

_‘This isn't happening, this can't be happening.’_

Panic overtook her face, slowly spreading over flawless features as reality hit home, hard.

_‘No no no! Why does she have to turn up now?!’_

 She made for the nearest door, fleeing in the most dignified manner she could muster in the short span of seconds her brain allowed her before her legs automatically started moving.

When in doubt, an animal’s instincts take over control. Faunus were more susceptible to their instincts than humans were, which was used against them more often than not. Fight or flight responses were much more prominent, and like everything else in her life, she went with flight.

Her surroundings seemed to blur as she fled, tearing down the hallway until a large door opposed her. She threw it open to admit herself into the sunlight.

Soft beams of light shone from between viridian green leaves. A soft wind blew between the branches, a gentle caress on her skin. One Blake Belladonna closed her eyes, breathing deeply and trying to slow her heart rate. Unsuccessfully, the hammering in her chest continued unabated, as though someone was trying to punch their way out. She brushed her thick, black hair over her shoulder, getting most of the stray locks out of her face. Troubled amber eyes flicked open.

Blake had always prided herself on her ability to calmly react to most any situation she encountered, especially one she’d prepared for. Her pride was pricked, but given the current moment, it was the furthest thing from her mind. Her Faunus ears, two ebony furred cat ones, swivelled back on her head, zeroing in on the sound of soft footsteps approaching.

“Blake…”

Turning around, her amber eyes locked onto a set identical to her own. Kali Belladonna, her mother, and physical twin in almost every aspect except their hair and ears. While Kali had short hair and three gold rings in her cat ears, two on one side and one on the other, Blake had no such piercings and lovingly kept long tresses of black. Concern was written into every line on her mother’s face. Of course, she was worried, mothers always were, especially when it came to their daughter’s heart.

They were both standing in the small front garden of the Belladonna residence in Vale, a good three-quarter-hour’s walk from Beacon University.

“I-I’m sorry, I just needed some air.”

Kali’s soft, motherly smile followed her daughter’s response, love and warmth in equal amounts radiating from her, “I understand how you feel.”

“Thanks for telling me you saw her at Beacon. I…” Blake trailed off, gathering her erratic thoughts and forcing them into cohesion. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d seen her there.”

“Blake,” Kali stepped forward, laying a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “You know your father and I are always here for you, no matter what.”

No matter how many times it happened, Blake was always surprised when her parents supported her like this. She didn’t know why she was surprised, just that she always was. Her heart swelled at her mother’s words, filling with the kind of love only a parent can give.

“I know.”

Blake leant her head against her mother’s, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, succeeding in slowing her heart rate this time.

“I guess I should start looking for another University to transfer to then.”

Her mother gave her an incredulous look, “Nonsense!”

“But she’s…”

“She’s only one girl and avoiding one girl shouldn’t be too hard. You know I work administration for the University, I can find this girl-,”

“Yang.”

“-, this Yang, get her schedule and you’ll know where not to be.”

“That doesn’t sound like it would be easy…”

“I’ll make it that easy.”

“But…”

“Blake. I may not agree with your chosen path, but I understand why you’ve chosen it and I will support you on it for as long as you walk it.”

Blake sighed heavily, looking at her mother with a small smile, “Thanks.”

Kali smiled back at her, then pulled her into an embrace, “Anything for my baby girl.”

* * *

The Beacon University Gym was a large, three story building in the heart of the University campus. It housed facilities to accommodate virtually every sport out in Remnant that one could practice. One of the most frequented parts of the gym was the weights sections, where many body-minded students went to work on muscle and weight. A series of punching bags were hanging from the ceiling off to the right of the room, one lone student hurling their fists expertly at one of them.

_Thud_

The sound echoed through the hall, bouncing off wooden floors and brick walls.

_Thud_

The bag shook, ripples of force moving through the sand in minuscule waves.

_Thud_

Yang sent another powerful punch into the bag, setting it swinging wildly from the chain that connected it to the ceiling. Her knuckles burned softly, the heat and pain a welcome distraction from the storm of emotions inside.

_Sunlight shone through the large, open windows._

The punches kept on slamming into the bag, it’s rocking motion never ceasing. Eyes from around the gym began locking onto her, and Yang could _feel_ all their eyes as she kept hitting the punching bag. Getting her frustrations and emotions out by physical workout was, in her opinion, the best method for dealing with unwanted emotions.

_Heavy drapes were tied off to one side of the window, for some dust unknown reason._

No matter how hard she punched, she never could hit hard enough to get those memories out of her mind. They were always lurking in the corners of her head, making themselves known whenever a quiet moment took her, or when she saw someone that just _might_ be her soulmate. Earlier that day had been example enough of that.

_“Don’t you dare.”_

That monotone voice had echoed in Yang’s ears as she walked back to the table, bluntly telling Coco and Ruby that the gorgeous girl she’d seen wasn’t her soulmate. As always, Yang pushed down all her feelings, throwing up her tried and true façade to keep everyone else from questioning her. Only Ruby knew, and Ruby knew not to push Yang for details until the following day. She needed time to process.

Yang had a habit of bottling difficult situations and emotions up. ‘ _Deal with ‘em later_ ,’ was the thought process she had for it. Eventually that evolved to, ‘ _If I ignore it long enough, it’ll go away.’_ That most definitely did not work out well for the blonde brawler. The bottled emotions just festered inside her and exacerbated the times she experienced those same bottled emotions again.

She hit the bag again, putting more power into the strike than she’d intended, feeling the jarring impact race up her arm. With a heavy sigh, she rested her head against the bag, golden locks tied in a ponytail. Parts of her fringe were stuck to her skin from the sweat, her workout clothes damp with it from her strenuous activity.

Yang hated how easily her mask came to her these days. Years of pulling it up whenever Ruby was around, whenever her father or friends were around, well after that long, with that much practice, it becomes as natural as anything. Only Qrow saw through her mask. No matter what she did, he always knew. Yang never wondered why she looked nothing like Summer Rose. She’d always believed that she’d taken after her father in every way, as Ruby had taken after Summer. However, her face wasn’t like her father’s, it was like her mother’s, her _real_ mother. Raven.

She’d only found out about her mother after Summer’s death, only discovered that her father’s first soulmate had abandoned them both shortly after Yang was born. All his life, Taiyang had dreamt of black hair, just like Yang. All his life he’d been loving Raven, and he continued to do so once the two met. Qrow told her that Tai had been swept away like all soulmates, lost in love. It wasn’t to last. One day Raven vanished, leaving behind a broken man in both heart and soul, and a motherless daughter too young to remember her.

That was when Summer Rose came along. See, she’d always dreamt of Tai, and she lived with a bleeding heart as she watched his life with Raven. She was there for him in the aftermath, as the friend she always had been. She started looking after a baby Yang, getting Taiyang back on his feet and living again. To have your soulmate change was rare, and Yang only knew of one person who’d experienced it, her father. A few months after Summer swept into his life in full, Tai had fallen in love, and this time, with a rose. From the moment his heart chose the silver-eyed girl, he started dreaming of her.

Then, along came Ruby, her baby sister. Yang loved her more fiercely than anything. With her mother’s silver eyes, black hair, and slim frame, she clearly took after her mother, after their mother. Summer loved Yang just as much as she loved Ruby, and considered Yang just as much her daughter as Ruby was. She raised them both, taught them how to bake the greatest of cookies. Yang could remember thinking she could never have a better mother than Summer Rose. Life was perfect, then in one of life’s numerous cruel twists of fate, tragedy struck.

Summer was killed in the line of duty. She was a police officer. One day a situation turned south, bullets started flying. Contraband dust cartridges and rounds were also fired. Fire, lightning, ice, and metal filled the streets. A little girl got caught in the line of fire, and Summer acted. Either the little girl took the bullet, or she did. For the silver-eyed woman, there was no decision. _‘Thus kindly I scatter.’_ Those are the words on Summer’s gravestone, an epitaph taken from her favourite poem.

The loss was far too much for Taiyang to handle. In one of his many drunken nights that followed her passing, Yang learned that Summer was the second love he’d lost. She learned of Raven, and she learned that Raven was her mother, not Summer. Her world was turned inside out, and Yang was overcome with the consuming desire to find her mother, her real mother, and find out why she abandoned her. The search nearly cost her and Ruby their lives, something Yang had never quite forgiven herself for.

Her father took a long time to get out of the pit he fell into, and he would never have made it without help. Yang knew that he could see Raven in her, just as he could see Summer in Ruby, more so given Ruby’s identical appearance to her mother. To Yang’s knowledge, he still visits his beloved Summer in his dreams, holding on to that remnant of love.

The more she thought about Summer, about Raven and about Taiyang, Yang found herself wondering what was so great about love that made the pain of what they had all gone through worth it.

_A purr broke the sudden silence in the room._

Yang flushed, an automatic reaction that hit her whenever she heard that purr. Her heart leapt in her chest and the warmth of happiness swelled within her. Those feelings were what made all that pain worth it for her father, but she seemed cursed to never find the person who’d make her feel that way.

More than anything, she wanted to hold her dream girl in her arms, pet those adorable cat ears and listen to the following purr, feel the vibrations in her chest. She wanted to look into their eyes, whatever colour they were, forever. She wanted to give away the little piece of her heart that she’d kept hidden and sheltered since she was a little girl, the piece that she’d guarded, the piece untouched by her mother’s death or her biological mother’s abandonment.

No matter how much she wished for it, that happiness always eluded her.

So what if she never found her soulmate? So what if that exact kind of happiness wasn’t for her? She would be just fine without a soulmate.

 _‘What if they leave you just like she did?’_ Asked the silent voice in her mind, going unnoticed. Deep down, that was Yang’s biggest fear, being abandoned, left behind, forgotten, and unloved by those she loved so dearly.

She drew her fist back for another punch to the bag when a gentle hand wrapped its fingers around her arm to hold it fast.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep hitting that. Come on, let’s go home, I’m starving.”

Yang turned around to fix her lilac eyes on Ruby. Her red caped, shorter sister met her gaze evenly with her shining silver eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know your eyes are awful pretty and purple but my stomach is grumbling and you’re the best cook I know. Also you have the motorbike which I need to get home so… there’s that too.”

“You’re lucky you’re adorable.”

“I’m lucky to have you as a sister.”

“Awwww Rubes!”

“Shut up and drive me home.”

Yang laughed, reaching over and ruffling her sisters already messy hair before unwrapping her hands. She threw the wraps into her bag and slung it over her shoulder, heading for the door with her sister in tow. Lilac eyes analysed her knuckle’s condition from the punching sets. She hadn’t punched them bloody, but the skin was red and irritated. A myriad of silvered while scars decorated her knuckles, remnants of fights from a darker period of her life.

Ruby waited while Yang hit the showers, stripping the sweaty clothing from her skin. The bathroom was deserted, leaving Yang to quickly shower in peace. Steam filled the surrounding air as she washed her skin clean, scrubbing away the dirt the day had accumulated.

Towelling off with, of course, a bright orange towel, Yang dressed rapidly, well aware of her sister’s growing appetite. If she waited much longer, her sister would grow insatiable and Yang would have to knock her out. That wasn’t even remotely true, but Yang made the joke to her sister whenever possible anyway. She stopped to check herself out in the mirror as she left, making sure her looks were adequate enough for going out. Being her looks were as they were, she hardly needed to check.

_‘Dust I look good.’_

She exited the bathroom with her sports bag slung over one shoulder. Ruby had her phone out and was reading something.

_‘Probably a book if I know her.’_

“Whatcha reading Rubes?”

“A new book I got today.”

_‘Nailed it.’_

Wrapping her free arm around her sister, Yang led her to the parking lot where Bumblebee was currently awaiting. The sun was kissing the horizon when the orange and black motorbike shot its way out of Beacon University and headed towards the inner suburbs of Vale. Traffic was once again kind, and the journey home took a mere twenty-three minutes to complete.

With a theatrical kick to open their front door, Ruby and Yang almost stumbled into their apartment, both ready to eat and sleep. It did not take Yang long to prepare a meal of leftovers from the previous few meals that the pair had stored away in their fridge. It was hot, it was food, it would do. They settled down on their beige couch to watch an episode of X-ray and Vav while they ate, passing small talk for the first half of the episode before Yang felt she was okay enough to talk about the incident earlier that day.

“Go on, ask me, I can tell you want to.”

Ruby froze with a raised halfway to her mouth and silver eyes wide. Yang suppressed a laugh as her sister quickly finished the bite of food on her fork and gave Yang her concerned look. With a pang, Yang realised how much she looked like Summer whenever she worried about their family.

“It wasn’t them?”

Yang shook her head, “No, it wasn’t. Their voice was wrong. It was so different to what I hear most nights when I close my eyes, most days when I close them.”

“Well… at least that’s one cat Faunus with black hair and gorgeous looks down, a few hundred to go?”

The last part of Ruby’s sentence alluded that Ruby had no idea how many cat Faunus there were in the world, let alone how many fit Yang’s descriptions.

“Yeah… a few hundred alright.”

“Hey, I’m sure you’ll find them one day.”

“And if I don’t, I’ll be fine without them. But speaking of soulmates, have you had your dream yet?”

Ruby shook her head as a definitive ‘no’. Ruby was unusually late in getting her soulmate dream. Most people had it between fourteen and sixteen. Ruby was eighteen and still had never come close. Then her ever present smile was back on her face, silver eyes glinting. She held her hand out in front of her and crossed her middle and index fingers,

“Fingers crossed it’ll be soon.”

Yang chuckled at her sister, “Fingers crossed. Now, give me your plate and head to bed, I’ll clean up all this.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Alright then. Goodnight Yang, I love you.”

Her sister gave her a little wave as she headed down the hallway to her bedroom. Yang leaned over the back of the couch and waved back, soft smile on her face. Yang raised her voice, letting it carry down the hall and lacing it with the softness she reserved for Ruby.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it and leave me all the criticism or all the praise, whichever you prefer.
> 
> Next chapter has a splash of my second favourite ship in it, looking forward to the feels any potential shippers may also experience.


	4. Our Souls Combined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two souls become one, and another two have their first, tentative touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a dose of my second favourite RWBY ship, and freak out over what happens.

The pleasant smells, sights, and sounds that most cafés seemed to emanate surrounded the group, blanketing them in a soft warmth. The café relatively slow business for a Saturday morning, but it was something Yang was greatly appreciative of. Ruby’s normal hyperactive self was more than enough energy for Yang to deal with on a weekend, she didn’t need the hasty atmosphere on a busy café on top of that. Yatsu, Ruby, Velvet, and Pyrrha were all seated by one of the large double-glazed windows that the café sported. Couches and low tables, perfect for sharing a morning beverage between friends.

The early morning sun was shining weakly through the windows, the grey, overcast sky taking its strength. Thankfully, Vale was once again free from the threat of rain, which meant those infernal contraptions known umbrellas were not needed. Despite relishing the device’s ability to keep her hair dry, Yang was cursed around umbrellas, as they always seem to go off in her hand and open randomly whenever she was holding them.

Yang was standing in the short line to the counter, waiting to take everyone’s drink and food orders. Coco was next to her, hip cocked and looking at everyone through sunglasses that Yang swore were glued to the girl’s face. Her fashionable friend had that look on her face, the ‘I’m silently judging everyone’s clothes’ look. A soft smile worked its way onto the brawler’s face as she shifted herself closer to Coco.

“Alright, give me the run down.”

Without missing a beat, and as though she had been waiting for Yang to ask her the question, Coco sucked in a deep breath,

“Well, you’re dressed awful simply, nothing fancy. Tank top goes well with your zip up hoodie, and those shorts of yours… at least none of the colours clash.”

“Thanks.”

“Eh, you could be much better,” Coco kept speaking, not giving Yang time to respond, “Your sister’s unusual tastes still have her dressed better than you. I’ll never know how she pulls off wearing that damned cape but she does.”

Coco shifted her gaze to Pyrrha, “Our sports champion is dressed as impeccably as always. I have the most hope for her. Though, I would change that jacket. That colour brown does not work with her hair.”

Yang nodded, though she thought Pyrrha looked fine. ‘ _Guess it’s one of those things being a fashion major develops,’_ She thought wryly.

“Yatsu however, has literally the same outfit on whenever I see him, I don’t know why and I’ve given up trying to find out. He just shrugs at me, but I will get him to wear something else if it’s the last thing that I do in this world.”

Yang laughed at her friend, finding her tenacity both amusing and admirable. Coco had every intention of following through on her efforts to get Yastuhashi to wear something other than his normal outfit. A silence grew between them, and Yang turned an eye on her friend, noting that Coco’s gaze was still fixed on the table where their friends were, or rather, fixed on a specific Faunus.

“And Velvet?”

Coco shook her head slightly as though clearing it, “Huh… wha-?”

“What about Velvet?”

Suddenly remembering the conversation Yang had been having with her, and in her haste to answer, her mind lagged a little behind her mouth,

“She’s perfect.” Yang could see the older girl’s eyes around the sides of her glasses, and she caught the wistful look woven into her eyes. However, the look was quickly tinted with anger, a cold fury burning just below the surface.

“Uh oh, I know that look.”

Coco turned her face to Yang, shades now blocking her eyes from view.

“Did you and Velvet have a fight or something? Because if you did, you should go apologise like five minutes ago.”

Coco looked away from her friend for a moment, “No, we didn’t fight.”

Yang allowed concern to creep into her voice, hearing the anger mounting in her perfectly dressed friend’s voice. “Then what is wrong? You can tell me.”

“Four years. For four years I’ve been dreaming of my soulmate. Only their voice. In my dream, they’re behind me and I’m turning around, I knew it was only a matter of time until I saw them. But their voice, it was shy, but caring and loving.”

Yang had a bad feeling settling in her stomach that she might know where this was going.

“It’s Velvet’s voice, isn’t it?”

Coco answered Yang with a curt nod, “You can imagine how I felt when I asked her about it, and she told me that her soulmate was someone else. Someone different and not me.” Her voice wavered ever so slightly at the end of her sentence, the only indication that Yang had of the kind of emotional turmoil her friend must have felt.

“So, what’s got you worked up?”

“She lied to me.”                                                                                                                                             

Yang did a mental double take. Velvet never lied to anyone, she was too pure of heart. Of everyone in the world, Yang didn’t peg Coco as the one Velvet would lie to. “Are you sure?” She asked, remembering how she’d seen someone who looked like her soulmate, but sounded different, “After all, they could have the same voice.”

Once again, Coco gave a short motion of her head in response, though this time, the lateral movement was a solid shake of the head. “I turned around last night, finally, and I saw her. Velvet. Standing there with the most dust-damned adorable-.” She broke off, the anger in her voice reaching a snapping point. Coco locked her gaze onto Velvet and started striding over to their table.

**“VELVET!”**

Chocolate brown eyes went wide and the aforementioned rabbit Faunus sat bolt upright, her back ramrod straight. Long rabbit ears went upright. Velvet slowly turned around to see a furious Coco stalking towards her. She made a small noise in the back of her throat, more like she was choked with emotion than with fear. Her eyes confirmed it. They were shining, but not with fear.

Coco’s voice was dangerous and pitched low, accusing and hurt, “You’ve been lying to me.”

Yang watched as her sister opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Yatsuhashi placed a hand on the small girl’s shoulder and shook his head. Ruby’s confusion grew but she didn’t ask, Pyrrha doing the same after seeing the exchange. The red-haired girl tilted her head to the side slightly, emerald green eyes watching carefully, trying to decipher what was going on.

“When I met you I thought you were my soulmate. I was overjoyed at the thought, and shattered when you told me that it wasn’t me. That it was someone else and that _he_ was your future.”

Every set of eyes in the café was on Coco and Velvet, and Yang could see her friend’s shocked expressions at what was taking place in front of them, at what was being revealed. Everyone except Yatsu, that is.

“I turned around in my dream last night and I saw you, Velvet. I saw you…” emotion was spilling into Coco’s voice, “Why? Why did you lie to me? Why did you stop me from loving you? I would have loved you Velvs!”

Liquid feelings and emotions had gathered in Velvet’s eyes, and they spilled down her cheeks. Small droplets rolling down her skin and leaving sparkling trails to mark their paths. Her eyes were unfathomable as she stared at Coco. Her hands were half open, arms partially extended towards Coco.

“Because… I’ve been dreaming of this moment for years.”

Velvet’s voice was full of longing and relief. No more hiding and lying. She could finally let her love for Coco out. They were two puzzle pieces that fit each other perfectly, two halves of a whole. Her eyes were slightly pleading now, willing Coco to see, to understand.

Yang could see the change in Coco as though the girl had suffered a physical blow from an unknown force. “As in… this exact…?” Coco trailed off, and Velvet was nodding, slowly at first, but quickly gaining speed. The both stood frozen, staring at each other. Yang now understood why Velvet had lied to Coco. She dreamed this moment, and if she’d told Coco, then the moment wouldn’t have happened. In order for her dream to come true, she needed to wait. She’d forced herself for through two years of emotional hell because her future was laid out in the dream she’d had since childhood, and she knew she wanted it more than anything.

With a smirk on her face, Yang cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, “Oh kiss her already!”

A few of the café staff chuckled at that, smiles on their faces as everyone watched Velvet almost tackle Coco as she leapt up from her seat and wrapped herself around her soulmate. She had her lips locked against Coco’s, arms wrapped tightly around the other girl’s neck. Cheering broke out among the group of friends at the impressive time that kiss was held. Breaking it, Velvet leaned in to Coco’s ear, whispering apologies and declarations of love. Yang could vaguely see her lips moving, but she was too far away to make the words out.

The two spent the rest of the time at the café wrapped around each other. All of them, Yang included, poked fun at the pair, but also congratulated them. Velvet had her arms possessively wrapped around Coco’s waist, and Coco did not mind in the slightest. Watching them, constantly blushing and whispering to one another, looking to perfect, made Yang consider herself, and her soulmate. Seeing Coco and Velvet, a human and a Faunus, it was definitely heartening. Most human-Faunus relationships were frowned upon, and while Yang wouldn’t let that stop her, she did have concerns, most of which were being put to bed as she watched the pair.

Velvet was not usually a touchy person, but it was clear to everyone there. After all those years, she finally got to have Coco as her soulmate and she was never, ever, going to let her go. Yatsuhashi was watching them, soft smile on his face. He nodded at Coco, putting on his protective, tough-guy act for his best friend, “Don’t hurt her.”

Coco’s response was so heartfelt and so quick that no one doubted it. No hesitation, no uncertainty. “I would never even dream of it.”

He gave her a nod, “Good.”

The table all then burst into laughter, chuckles, and giggles. Despite the faux seriousness of the conversation, they all knew that Coco and Velvet would be perfect for each other, and were glad that Velvet didn’t have another soulmate.

Yang once again found herself smiling at the pair, their love for each other palpable, a tangible force between them. Seeing it made the brawler wish that she shared that bond with someone, that connection, that intimacy.

Eventually it came time for everyone to clear out, other commitments and life responsibilities getting in the way of their companionship. Pyrrha and Yatsuhashi left first, followed by Coco several minutes later. Yang, Ruby, and a still blushing Velvet were all that remained for a long while before she too, had to go.

With a sunny smile, Yang waved goodbye to her friend as she departed, cheeks tinted red and a lovesick smile on her lips. “Well that was adorable.”

Ruby’s silver eyes locked onto Yang as the blonde spoke, “Oh my Oum I know!” she said excitedly, “Did you see Velvet? She never once looked away from Coco I just-.” She broke off with a squeal, seeming fifteen again. Yang laughed at her and ruffled her hair.

“Yeah, I know, they were made for each other.”

Ruby hummed in agreement, before picking up her bag, “You ready?”

Yang glanced at her sister, “Huh? Ready for what?”

“Guuuh, I have a book society meetup remember? You promised to walk me there.”

“Oh, I remember.”

Yang, in fact, did not remember anything about a book society meetup, but she went with it.

“No you don’t.”

Damn, her sister was too used to her tricks.

“Oh hush.”

Ruby stuck her tongue out at Yang, who simply smiled at her.

“Alright, where are we going?”

“A bookstore, it’s called Tukson’s Booktrade, it’s a couple blocks from here.”

“M’kay.”

Yang started humming under her breath as she exited the café with Ruby, pulling out her scroll to get directions for the store. Orienting themselves, they set off, making for the store. The overcast sky stretched out above them, grey and unchanging, a single, solid colour that almost matched the concrete buildings nearby.

Streets moved by them quickly as the pair hurried to the meetup,

“Oh I’m gonna be laaate.”

Yang glanced sideways at her sister, “We’ll make it, I’m sure they won’t mind if you’re a few minutes late.”

Ruby grunted under her breath as they rounded the corner, catching sight of the entrance a couple doors down.

“There it is!”

Her silver eyed sister almost ran the last twenty meters, skidding to a halt outside the store and opening the door, quickly entering. Stumbling after her, Yang entered undoubtedly the homeliest bookstore she’d ever been in. The whole place felt comfortable and peaceful, welcoming. The bookshelves were excellently maintained and the reading areas were clean and currently vacant.

What weak sunlight there was filtered in through the windows, a few window seats between bookshelves providing excellent places to sit and read. If it started raining, Yang knew Ruby would happily sit with her nose buried in a book about legends and heroes for an afternoon in one of those reading nooks, with the rain running down the cold glass next to her.

The smell of books, old and knew, washed over Yang, leaving a vaguely musty scent. Odd for a bookstore to have such a smell. _‘Perhaps they also allow the borrowing of books.’_ She thought to herself.

Ruby had taken herself over to one of the tables, dropping her bag by her legs. Yang looked at her sister with a questioning gaze, lilac eyes having finished their roam of the store. “Just you here then?”

Ruby shook her head, “No. Most of them had to cancel, but one other girl could make it, she works here so, she might be out back.”

 Yang nodded to herself, accepting the explanation. “Guess I should-.”

She was cut off as a new voice called from across the room and behind a bookshelf. Ruby looked up and locked her eyes onto someone Yang couldn’t see, recognition in her eyes,

“Oh, you’re here Ruby, I hadn’t realised you were.” The voice was monotone and soft, like silk. Apologetic, but containing traces of a dry, sarcastic wit.

_‘Hold on a second.’_

“It’s no problem, I was late getting here.”

_‘That voice…’_

“Are you ready to start?”

_‘It’s the same as my dream.’_

“Totally ready to go.”

Into Yang’s view, walked a girl slightly shorter than herself, long black tresses, fair skin, and the most beautiful pair of eyes Yang had ever seen in her life. Heart beginning to climb into her throat, Yang’s eyes shot to the girl’s head, specifically the top. There sat something that looked like cat ears. A slim, lithe build followed, the girl wearing a combination of black and white with a splash of dark purple.

Just like when she had seen that girl in the food hall at University the week before, everything seemed to slow down, seconds stretching into eternity. She was going to have a very stern conversation with Ruby as to why she had neglected to mention she had found her older sister's damned soulmate! How could she have not told her? This was not something to leave as a surprise, this was emergency, world ending level important information to know. Maybe then Yang could have dressed nicer or prepared even a little bit.

_‘Oh my dust…’_

Yang was not ready for this, not ready at all. Despite all these years dreaming about it, she was not ready to-.

The girl got closer, having seen Yang and stopped, expression and eyes unreadable. Yang killed all thoughts she’d had, wrenching her heart back into her chest. Now that the girl with twin stars for eyes was closer, Yang could see the object on her head was not, in fact, an adorable pair of black cat ears, but rather a simple, black bow. She was the wrong species.

_‘Two close calls…’_

The following fallout of emotions hit her like a ton of bricks, surely causing her to stagger. While she didn’t physically, her mind recoiled slightly. The disappointment and pain that she felt would have been evident on her face had she not thrown her mask up in time. It seems Remnant was hell bent on torturing Yang with all these teases of her soulmate, only to once again, rip it away.

_‘I can’t do this again.’_

With a forceful swallow, Yang pushed all of that down into her chest, her usual sunny smile on her lips. She stuck out a hand to the newcomer, unable to keep a hint of disappointment out of her voice, “Hi, I’m Yang, Ruby’s older sister.”

_‘You would have been perfect.’_

The raven-haired beauty just kept staring at her, eyes flicking from Yang’s face, to the hand, and back again. She remained silent.

_‘I would have loved you forever.’_

“Ooookay…” Yang eventually said, as the lack of response continued the silence that had begun to grow between them.

Seeming to remember herself, the girl blinked rapidly a couple times, “Blake…” Her voice was quiet, almost inaudible.

“Just Blake?”

“Belladonna…”

This girl was definitely a lost cause.

“Well… it was nice meeting you Blake.” Turning away from the awkward conversation and Remnants latest attempt and murdering her heart, Yang turned her lilac eyes, barely concealing the emotions within, on Ruby, “Call me when you’re done, I’ll come pick you up.”

“Okay sis!”

Yang turned on her heel, walking swiftly out of the store. The fact that Blake was there, as the universe’s latest knife to her heart, added a little speed to her fleeing.

_‘What did I do to deserve this?’_

Little did she know, Blake was thinking the exact same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a thing...
> 
> I hope you all liked the chapter! Please leave a comment with criticism or praise. Or both!
> 
> Should you so wish, bug me on tumblr at (theasininewordsmith.tumblr.com) where I will post nothing and sit there like a sack of potatoes.


	5. The Writing On The Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake deals with the emotional turmoil of actually meeting the girl of her dreams, literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this slightly shorter chapter.

Blake tilted her head, both sets of ears pricked, searching for what was wrong. She didn’t know what it was yet, but some part of her knew that something was amiss. It took her a moment before she realised what it was. Ruby had stopped talking. Amber eyes flicked to silver ones curiously, only to discover that she was under careful scrutiny from the younger girl. Ruby’s face was drawn together in concentration, her usually playful features coloured with an element of seriousness.

“Ruby?”

Blake watched as Ruby jumped slightly, so drawn into her mental musings that she’d failed to notice Blake had noticed she was watching.

“Oh, uh sorry.”

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah, just… thinking…”

“About..?”

“Just, never mind, I was just musing randomly.”

Blake had no idea what Ruby was thinking, but she knew random musing wasn’t it. But she was is no position to pry. But then again,

“Something you want to talk about?”

The smaller girl shook her head, “Nah, I'm okay. Thanks though.” She looked at her scroll, seeing the time and snapping her head up, “Yang’s gonna be here any second, I gotta go.”

Blake found herself nodding absent-mindedly, more concerned with the fact that her soulmate was about to come charging through the front door of the store again.

Ruby gathered up her various books, all full of tales and legends of the warriors and heroes of old. They were nice stories, Blake had to admit, but a little childish. But the book society catered to all book genres and all book types, and so there were a few odd types that showed up.

The sound of a door latch clicking out of place reached her sharp ears, eyes swivelling to the door as the aforementioned soulmate walked through. Blake froze up as her eyes were met with undoubtedly the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Of course, she’d already noted this the first time she’d seen Yang in her dreams, and again when she saw her an hour ago. But she could see Yang in the flesh every day for the rest of her life and still get that same feeling of awe.

Her heart tightened in her chest with slight pain as her eyes met Yang’s, seeing no recognition or… or… love…

As wrong as it was, that’s all Blake wanted to see in those lilac eyes when they looked at her.

Shaking herself to snap out of her reverie, she gave a curt nod to Yang, who smiled at her,

“Hi Blake.”

_‘Oh my dust her smile.’_

“H-hi.”

Yang kept smiling at her, turning to Ruby, “You ready to go sis?”

“Yep! All ready. I’ll see you next week Blake!”

Blake gave Ruby a small wave, forcing herself to look away from Yang, “Remember to check your scroll so you’re on time and get updates.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

She turned away from the pair, ready to flee further into the shop when she felt a hand catch her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder, surprise evident in her eyes as she saw Yang standing, very, close. She was holding a small slip of paper that looked like she’d hurriedly scribbled on.

“Here’s my number. Ruby always forgets to check her scroll so… if you need to, you know, tell her something and she isn’t responding, you can just… tell… me…” Yang trailed off, not entirely sure why she was giving Blake her number.

“Uh, thank you.” Blake noted the soft blush that came onto Yang’s face. Yang gave her a final smile before turning around, collecting her sister and departing from the store. Mentally, Blake was kicking herself for the surprised and confused facial expression she just knew was etched onto her face.

The breath Blake hadn’t known she’d been holding exploded from her the moment the bookstore door closed behind Ruby’s red cape. Her mind had been reeling for the past hour, trying to come to terms with the fact that her soulmate, the girl she’d been dreaming about had walked through those doors and said ‘hi’, then again to pick her sister up with another ‘hi’.

_‘She didn’t recognise me.’_

She could feel her chest frozen in confusion, her emotions unsure of what to do with themselves. They didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved. It felt as though someone had her feelings in their hands and were tying knots in increasingly intricate ways. The more she tried to follow one string, the more strings would overlap it and confuse her. In the same fashion, her mind refused to think in a straight line.

No matter how hard she tried not to do so, her mind kept focusing on that golden hair, the galaxies contained in those lilac eyes. Her heart cried out, a desperate plea to not be so lonely anymore. It wanted nothing more than to cuddle up close to Yang’s and never leave.

Blake clenched her fist, slim fingers tightening into a ball. They remained that way, taut and tense, for a few moments before she released them with a partnering exhale, breathing out some of the emotion swirling inside her. There was only one thing to do. She pulled out her scroll, flicking it open and scrolling to her most contacted person.

A few seconds of ringing followed before the one she sought deigned to pick up his damn scroll,

“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?”

No number existed for the amount of times that Blake had gotten exasperated over his incessantly terrible lines. She let out a heavy sigh and let loose a withering look in the direction she thought he was.

“Sun… I need to talk to you.”

* * *

 

The pair were sitting at Beacon University, at one of the many outside sitting areas. Most of the students currently on campus were in lectures, practicals, or some other class, which left the two friends mostly alone. There was another pair of students about twenty meters away and a few lone students sitting on nearby benches.

The overcast sky had cleared up somewhat over the past couple hours, allowing the sun to come streaming through. Blades of sunlight drifted down through the trees, their warmth being greatly appreciated by Blake’s cat ears. It was a perfect time to sit down with an open book and read the hours away, but then again, for Blake, that was any time of the day. She took small comfort from the warmth of the sun, but it was nowhere near enough to calm the veritable storm of emotions crackling inside her.

“’Blake?’ _She_ was there, and you just said your name? Then she was there again, and you could only muster short responses.” The incredulous tone of voice was matched by the equally disbelieving look that was currently plastered on her friend’s face.

“Yes! Now for the love of Oum, shut up about it and help me.” Blake narrowed her amber eyes at her friend, scowl deepening as his classic smile worked its way onto his lips. Blake was the only person immune to those smiles, unlike the scores of girls he’d thrown it at. There was nothing malicious in him though, he was content to wait for his soulmate, but didn’t mind having fun along the way.

“I just can’t bel-.”

“ _Sun!_ ”

“Alright fine, I’ll drop it.” There was the smile again. She could practically hear the damn thing in his voice.

Sun Wukong, best friend since third grade, and a silver-tongued charmer, he was the best friend she could have asked for. Always supportive, even if he thought her plan was hare-brained or just plain stupid.

Blake was pacing, long black hair fanning out from her head slightly every time she abruptly turned on her heel. Sun was willing to bet that if his friend had a tail, then it would be lashing. His own tail however, was curled around a cup, holding it up and off to the side. 

Sun had only seen Blake like this when conversations turned to her soulmate.

“What am I going to do Sun?”

He gave her a smile that said, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to ask me this’.

“The way I see it, you’ve got a few options available to you.”

“And those are?”

Blake raised an eyebrow, not believing his claim of multiple options. The way _she_ saw it, she only had one.

“Option one; you keep going the way you have been so far. Just keep avoiding her, change nothing. Your second option is to go somewhere else. Change your university, run away. Leave her behind and never see her again. Your parents definitely won’t like that, and neither will I.”

“And my third?”

“Well, you could… I don’t know… wing it? See where it goes? Go talk to her, see what kind of person she is.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can, you’re just afraid.”

“For good reason!”

The monkey Faunus dipped his head to her in acknowledgement of that. “I’m not saying that isn’t the case, I’m just saying that there’s the chance.”

Blake made a frustrated noise, her irritation growing. “You already know that’s impossible.”

“Why’s it impossible?”

“Because I don’t have a future with her!”

Silence stretched between them. Blake could feel the blood pounding in her ears, eyes locked with Sun’s. His eyes were a mix of sympathy and understanding, but also admonishment. He spoke in a more serious tone, voice firm.

“You don’t know that. You can tell the future, you can just give it your best guess.”

Blake opened her mouth to respond but Sun cut her off before she could get a word in edgewise.

“Almost all soulmate dreams are open to interpretation. What you see every night, it might not be what you think.”

Blake felt his words sink in, but at the same time, she knew that he knew exactly what her dream was. She’d described it to him in detail. No one else in Remnant knew what she saw, not even her parents. “How could it not be exactly what I think?”

Sun shrugged at her, soft smile working its way onto his face. “You know I love you Blake, as a friend, but you seem to be blind to what’s happening.”

She felt her mouth open in protest, amber eyes flashing as they started hardening. Once again, her best friend beat her to the punch. “You’re in love with her.”

“I can’t love someone I don’t know.”

Internally, she winced at her voice. She sounded defensive, a dead giveaway that she knew she was lying.

“You’ve been in love with her since we were twelve. Want me to prove it? Fine, what did you feel when you saw her today?”

Blake thought back to that moment, feeling the world freeze and everything snap into sharp focus when she’d seen Yang. She remembered her ears, both human and cat, straining for any sign of the familiar strains of love in the voice she heard in her dreams every night. She remembered the disbelief that swept through her, followed by panic, then followed by a glimmer of hope that sat in her chest. Despite everything she told herself over the years, despite all the promises and all the precautions and all the planning, Yang’s presence alone had made her feel like everything was going to be alright.

Blake remembered the disappointment in her soulmate’s voice, she remembered the pain behind the cosmos trapped in her stunning lilac eyes. She remembered the urge to throw her arms around the blonde girl and make all the pain go away. She remembered the odd mix of despair and… warmth… that swept through her as she remembered those words, the ones that echo in her mind every night.

_‘Hey… hey, it’s okay kitten… I love you.’_

She could almost see Yang’s soft pink lips mouthing those words.

She would only bring Yang pain. That’s all she ever did.

Sun’s voice echoed for a moment before it cut through her thoughts. “Your face says it all.”

The emotion in her chest was too much, and Blake hated the desperate look she knew was etched onto her face.

“I…”

“Blake.”

 

 

“Sun?”

 

 

“She didn’t recognise you. That means she doesn’t know you. And yes, I know that sucks for most people, but it gives you a perfect opportunity.”

“And that is?”

“You can be around her, without actually being _with_ her.”

“And torture myself?”

“You torture yourself anyway.”

There wasn’t anything Blake could say to that. They both knew he was right. Ever since she was twelve, the knowledge she carried had always haunted her.

“Blake… do you trust me?”

Blake was silent, lips pursed for a moment, not wanting to respond, knowing that it would end with Sun getting her to do something she’d regret. But, she couldn’t hide from the answer, and at some point, no matter how far or fast she ran, she had to stop, “Yes.”

“Then talk to her, get to know her, be her friend. Sometimes, for some people, that’s enough. Just try it, for me, and for you. Yeah, it might turn out bad, but it might turn out great.”

Blake thought about it, as much as her heart was repelled by the idea, her brain recognised that it might be a way to get just a little bit of everything she wanted. Her heart wanted Yang, and her brain didn’t want to hurt her by being with her. Perhaps just being friends would solve that.

_‘… for some people, that’s enough.’_

“Okay.”

_It would have to be enough._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to DermatologistTested for helping me get through a mini writer's block. You're awesome <3
> 
> Love all of you guys, I hope you all liked this. Please leave criticism or praise, or both!


	6. Autocorrect?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Ruby have a couple heart-to-hearts about a particularly prickly topic for Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to those I promised a longer chapter, it's another short one. But next chapter WILL be a longer one. I pinky promise. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this drabble of a chapter.

“So what was that with Blake back there?” Ruby asked almost as soon as the bookstore door closed behind them.

“What was what?” Yang knew she sounded defensive, but she couldn’t really help it.

“That little talk you had with her at the end. I caught that blush of yours. Yeah, that one, the one still on you face.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Rubes.” Yang said, even as she turned her face away from her sister to hide her cheeks. For someone who was already naturally warm, her cheeks felt like they were burning.

“She’s pretty.”

“So?”

“She’s really pretty.”

“Your point being?”

“No point.”

“Let’s go home Rubes.”

“You’re totally into her.”

Yang shot her sister a glare, “So what if I am?”

Ruby shrugged, smile still on her face, “I know dark hair is kinda your thing.”

Yang groaned, before punching Ruby in the shoulder with mock irritation. She changed the subject before it’s continuation opened cans of worms she didn’t want to deal with right at this very moment. She left her sister’s statement unanswered as the pair walked for half an hour through the dwindling light in a mostly comfortable silence. Ruby was humming a song under her breath, the tune a well-known hit. Before long, Yang found herself humming along with her sister, and they both exchanged grins before softly singing their way home.

They got through the door to their apartment and Yang set about making dinner for them. Throwing together a various collection of fresh greens and frying some meat up. She caught her sister looking into the kitchen as she started cooking and threw her a teasing smile,

“No chocolate chip cookies here.”

Ruby pouted and walked off.

* * *

 

_Bzzzt!_

The vibration echoed throughout the apartment, the rattling sound of a scroll on hard kitchen counter top. Yang was on her feet in a flash, barely avoiding tripping over her own feet as she shot over to her scroll where it sat charging. Some part of her brain registered and subsequently ignored Ruby snorting in amusement in the background as she almost failed at not tripping, narrowly missing getting up close and personal with the floor.

Her palms impacted on the edge of the stone countertop, the jarring sensation that followed quickly forgotten as Yang scrabbled for her scroll, flicking it open and staring at the screen, lilac eyes pulling it apart for all its secrets. New text. Unknown number.

[Hi, this is Blake. You gave me  
your number earlier.]  
_Unknown 20/03/17 7:00 PM_

Heart beating harder than she thought it would have, Yang stared at her phone for what felt like hours, fingers poised over the small holographic keyboard that sat at the bottom of the glass. She didn’t know what she was thinking, giving Blake her number. As it always was with people she found attractive, what felt like hours actually turned out to be a couple seconds. She quickly responded,

[hey yeah its yang u got me  
just fine]  
_20/03/17 7:00 PM_

Ruby looked up from the cartoon she was watching, a plate of cookies nestled in her lap. After dinner had been served and eaten, a pleading Ruby had turned big silver eyes on her older sister. It had taken exactly three seconds for Yang to crumble and bake cookies. “Been waiting on a certain someone to text, have you?”

Yang could hear the knowing, teasing tones practically dripping from her sister’s voice.

“What are you implying my dear sister? It’s not like she’s my soulmate or anything.”

“No, but she thought you were hot.”

Yang coughed and sputtered over her responding words, “She wha-?!”

Ruby simply laughed and went back to watching her cartoons. Yang saved Blake’s contact.

[That’s good. Thanks for your  
number by the way.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:02 PM_

[no probs. So wat did you  
want me to tell rubes? or r  
u txtn me for the pleasure  
of my company?]  
_20/03/17 7:02 PM_

[What?]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:03 PM_

[I gave u my number so  
u can tell rubes things  
remember?]  
_20/03/17 7:03 PM_

[Oh, right, sorry. I don’t have  
anything…]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:04 PM_

[just wanted the pleasure  
of my company then :p]  
_20/03/17 7:04 PM_

[Something like that.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:04 PM_

[well its all urs]  
_20/03/17 7:04 PM_

[Would it kill you to use  
autocorrect?]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:05 PM_

[yes]  
_20/03/17 7:05 PM_

[yes it would]  
_20/03/17 7:05 PM_

[This hurts my eyes]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:05 PM_

[careful now, I might kiss  
them better :p]  
_20/03/17 7:05 PM_

Yang had no idea what was going through her head. She was never this forward with anyone. Absolutely no one. Not even people she’d just met. Come to think of it, ever since she’d met Blake, she’d been acting out of character.

_‘There’s just something about her… Gaah why am I being so stupid?’_

She looked for a response. Nada, nothing. A couple minutes ticked by, and Yang was afraid she’d totally weirded Blake out.

[im sry i can be a bit much]  
_20/03/17 7:07 PM_

Nervously, Yang bit her lip as she waited for the response. Her heart jumped a little as her scroll informed her that Blake was typing.

[It’s alright Yang.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:08 PM_

[cool]  
_20/03/17 7:08 PM_

[sooo, wat do u do for fun?]  
_20/03/17 7:09 PM_

[I read.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:10 PM_

[right yea, i should have  
guessed that]  
_20/03/17 7:10 PM_

[It’s kind of obvious. I work  
in a bookstore.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:10 PM_

[hush u]  
_20/03/17 7:10 PM_

[i knew that]  
_20/03/17 7:11 PM_

[Right.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:11 PM_

[i did!!]  
_20/03/17 7:11 PM_

[Sure.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:11 PM_

[now now blakey]  
_20/03/17 7:11 PM_

[Blakey?]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:12 PM_

[ya, thats just how i am]  
_20/03/17 7:12 PM_

[i give people nicknames]  
_20/03/17 7:12 PM_

[is it okay? i can not call  
u blakey.]  
_20/03/17 7:13 PM_

[It’s fine.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:14 PM_

[awesome! thanks blakey]  
_20/03/17 7:14 PM_

[I’m regretting this already.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:14 PM_

[aww blakey! dont be sry]  
_20/03/17 7:14 PM_

[Okay.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:14 PM_

Silence grew between them, the conversation not really going in any sensible direction. Yang looked over at Ruby, her sister still focused on her cartoons. She got the sneaking suspicion that her little silver eyed sister hadn’t done any of her daily studies, and decided to attend to that. But first, she sent a quick text to Blake.

[ill leave u alone now ;) gotta  
go take care of rubes]  
_20/03/17 7:15 PM_

[nighty night blakey]  
_20/03/17 7:15 PM_

“RUBY!”

Yang smirked as her sister jumped violently, casting an annoyed glance at her.

“What?”

“Have you done your studies?”

She relished the look of panic and confusion that overtook her sister’s face. She struggled to hold back a laugh as Ruby sputtered over her own words, trying to get a response out.

“I… you… have… stu-… Wait, have _you_ done your studies?”

Yang looked at Ruby.

Ruby looked at Yang.

“How about we agree to forget the last five minutes?”

“Agreed.”

Yang’s scroll dinged as it received a message, lilac eyes flicking down to the glass screen to see who it was from and what it entailed.

[Goodnight Yang.]  
_Blake 20/03/17 7:20 PM_

Yang felt a soft smile come on to her face as she read the message. She didn’t know what it was about Blake. Maybe the mystery that surrounded her from not knowing anything about her, maybe it was the fact that she was downright beautiful.

_‘Yeah… it’s probably that second one.’_

* * *

 

_Sunlight shone through the large, open windows. Heavy drapes were tied off to the sides of the window, for some dust unknown reason. Winter surrounded the island of Patch, gusts continually blowing snow and ice around the island. One such gust blew through the window and into the open house, ruffling the pages of a book. Pale fingers were quick to still them so their owner’s eyes could continue the adventure stored within the pages._

_Yang couldn’t fathom why the window was open, letting all the warmth of the house escape. She would have immediately closed it were it not for the much more important task currently at hand._

_“Don’t you dare.”_

_Yang froze, her left arm outstretched, fingertips inches from a pair of soft looking black cat ears. She had been sure her soulmate’s attention had been captured in the open book, “But…”_

_“No.”_

_“But,” Her hand slowly moved forwards, almost caressing the short black fur that covered the outside of those two adorable ears. She was so close. If she could just get her soulmate to turn around._

_“I said n-.” The monotone voice which had echoed in her mind for the last five years was cut off, as with a pounding heart, Yang’s fingers closed the gap and lightly stroked those ears. A purr broke the sudden silence in the room and Yang felt her face flush at the reaction._

Lilac eyes opened, staring at the ceiling above them. The dream, as always, was the same. Nothing new, and her soulmate still remained a mystery to her. Yang sighed heavily, looking over at her alarm clock to check the time. Nine AM. She closed her eyes, and the memories of the dream washed over her.

_‘People can be happy without their soulmates.’_

_‘I can be happy without mine.’_

_‘I hope…’_

She pushed the sheets off her body, swinging her legs over the edge and sitting up, sighing heavily again. Yang placed her elbows on her knees and hung her head in her hands.

_‘That damned dream…’_

“You know, I still haven’t had my dream.”

Lilac eyes flicked over to the doorway of her room, “Yeah, I know Rubes.”

Her sister was leaning against the door frame, silver eyes focused on her, face concerned. It was concerned far too much for Yang’s liking. She was supposed to be the one worrying about Ruby, not the other way around.

“Your soulmate dream’s really beating you up, isn’t it?”

Yang didn’t have the heart to respond to her sister with words. A simple nod would have to suffice.

“Well… have you considered living life without your soulmate? I mean, there are plenty of people who get married to people who aren’t their soulmates. Not to say you need to get marriedoranythingIjustmean-.”

Ruby stopped herself, taking a breath, “I’m sorry, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean Ruby.”

Her sister gave her a long look, boring holes into her with the intensity of her gaze. Yang shrugged the look off before getting off her bed and walking towards Ruby, making a shooing motion with her hands, “Come on, breakfast time.”

“Pancakes?”

“Pancakes.”

Twenty minutes later, pancakes were made and steaming on two plates, a collection of syrups, spreads, fruits, and other toppings available. In classic Ruby fashion, hers were covered in chocolate chips. Yang was entirely convinced no one would ever curb her fascination with chocolate chips or her never ending hunger for cookies. She felt a little bad though, watching her sister’s undisguised, childish joy, at eating chocolate chip pancakes, and remembering the concern in her sister’ eyes earlier that morning.

_‘All I do is keep bringing her down with this stupid soulmate crap.’_

Ruby noticed Yang looking at her, a forkful of pancake halfway to her open mouth. Slowly she put the fork down, before an impish smile overtook her lips and a mischievous light started shining in her eyes, “Why don’t you ask Blake out?”

All of Yang’s thoughts of continued moping about from her dream were completely forgotten at Ruby’s words, “What?!”

“Why don’t you ask Blake out, I saw the way you looked at her. She does look like your dream girl after all. Not sure if that’s a good thing but… worth a try.”

“I can’t just go out with someone I don’t know!” Yang protested, speaking a little louder than she intended. The smug smirk on Ruby’s face definitely was not helping the situation at hand.

“Then get to know her first, be her friend.”

“I don’t know if I ca-.”

Ruby cut her off, “Just do it, for me.”

There was no arguing with the face that confronted her, and Yang knew it. Ruby could and would twist Yang around her little finger. And Yang let her. Forever and always. That was the promise she made to Ruby after their mother died.

“Okay, fine, I’ll get to know her if it matters so much to you.”

‘It does matter so much to me.”

Yang grunted and kept on eating, only now her thoughts turned towards Blake. She was certainly beautiful, and she seemed like a cool person. She also made Yang forget herself, acting flustered and out of character. At the very least, she wanted to know why this mysterious girl had that kind of power over her.

Yang pulled her scroll out, flicking it open to send a message.

[hi blake, i was just wndering  
if u were free tonite]  
_21/03/17 9:27 AM_

[Morning Yang. I am, but why?]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:32 AM_

[cool i hope i didn’t wake u]  
_21/03/17 9:27 AM_

[You didn’t.]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:33 AM_

[gud]  
_21/03/17 9:33 AM_

[Are you going to tell me why  
you wanted to know if I am   
free tonight?]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:35 AM_

[oh yeah. im bored and i  
thought u might want to  
do something]  
_21/03/17 9:35 AM_

[As in, just ‘hang out’?]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:35 AM_

[sure!]  
_21/03/17 9:35 AM_

[Okay.]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:36 AM_

[im taking that as a yes its  
a date :p]  
_21/03/17 9:36 AM_

[Oh for the love of Oum.]  
_Blake 21/03/17 9:36 AM_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you all liked it.
> 
> Did I get the characters right? How am I doing with them?
> 
> Leave all criticisms and/or praise in comments and I promise to respond. 
> 
> Love you guys.


	7. "Date" Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go out for a little awkward 'hang out'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took almost double the time to write as I was planning, so sorry about that. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter of pure and simple fluff moments.

Yang looked down at her scroll, reading over the text message conversation for the eightieth time in the past hour. Blake had agreed to meet her at the university, a place they could both get to easily. Yang looked into the glass of one of the nearby buildings, her reflection staring back at her. Brown leather jacket, knee high brown boots, bright orange socks pulled up past her knees, black short shorts that hugged her hips like a second skin, a half-skirt, and an orange tank top. Her long, golden curls fell over her back and shoulders, seeming to glow with their own inner fire.

_‘Do I look okay? Of course I look okay! Why am I so worried about this all of a sudden?’_

She shook her head in frustration. The feeling grew in her chest, electrifying her muscles. It was a self-directed anger that filled her heart, and coloured with confusion. Something between a groan and a yell escaped her lips.

“Something the matter?”

Yang spun around on her heels, her gaze zeroing in on the source of the voice behind her. There stood Blake, half smile, half smirk on her face. The girl was dressed in a loose, black shirt, skirt, closed black shoes, and a white cut-off jacket on. There was the black bow in her hair too.

_‘You look so beautiful.’_

“Uhh… thanks.” Blake blushed ever so slightly, a soft dusting of pink on her cheeks.

Yang tilted her head in confusion before she realised she had spoken out loud. It was her turn to blush as her mind went blank and proceeded to scrabble for words. She was met with… limited… success, and it took a second of her gaping like a fish before she managed to sputter out,

“N-no, I mean, no, nothing’s wrong.” Yang pulled her trademark sunny smile onto her face to bolster her words.

“Right.”

Yang smirked, making an obvious point of looking Blake up and down, “Can’t blame a girl for losing her words around you.”

When Yang got embarrassed, she attempted to cover it up with shameless flirting, shameless complimenting, and her usual audacious personality. The quicker she could get others to be embarrassed about what she’d said, the faster they forgot about her own embarrassment. It was a tried and true tactic for Yang, one she prided herself on. Besides, it wasn’t like she was _lying_. Blake was undeniably attractive with an alluring mystery around her.

It was irrefutable that all strangers have an element of mystery about them, given you don’t know anything about them, but Yang could sense there was much, much more to Blake than met the eye. Some part of her, some part that had taken root deep within her was pushing her to find out more about the ebony-haired girl. Yang had no idea where this part had come from, nor what brought it on, but it was there and she had to live with it now. Not to say she was complaining.

Blake looked down, blushing a little harder this time. She buried her gaze into the concrete footpath, avoiding Yang’s gaze. It lasted all of three seconds before the fiery girl saw her ‘date’ regain control of herself and look back up, her amber eyes locking onto Yang’s lilac ones.

“Did you bring me all the way out here to compliment me or do you actually have something to do?”

To Yang, it almost sounded like a challenge, as though Blake thought she had been winging this whole ‘hang out’ night. To be completely honest, Yang was winging it, but she wasn’t about to let Blake know that. To her own internal horror, Yang watched as the line form in her mind, make its way to her tongue, and slip out before she could stop it. The dread grew as, automatically, her radiant smile grew larger and she winked at Blake,

“You’re welcome to do me.”

_‘Kill me’_

Blake practically choked on her own tongue.

_‘Just kill me. Right now.’_

When no higher power deigned to smite her, and with Blake still trying to process and recover from Yang’s shameless but-at-the-same-time completely shameful flirting, she thought it was best she try to implement some damage control. Apologies were a good place to start, most of the time. A quick, cursory glance told her that Blake had managed to scrape together a measure of composure. Before she could do anything like, leave, Yang lowered her eyes apologetically,

“I’m sorry, mouth gets ahead of my brain sometimes…”

_‘Most times.’_

_‘Shut up brain’_

_‘You shut up’_

Yang looked up to assess the damage of the past few minutes. The warmth of pleasant surprise swept through her as she saw the corners of Blake’s lips turn upwards slightly. Maybe there was a chance she could salvage the situation somewhat.

“It’s alright.”

_‘Green light!’_

Yang tossed her head back, flicking her mane of golden hair over her shoulders.

“Awesome, but there’s no time to waste,” She took a step to her left as she spoke, gesturing for Blake to follow her, “come on, it’s not even late yet.”

“Okay.”

Yang set an easy, comfortable pace for them to walk at, heading out of the campus and towards the nearby shopping centre. Mentally, she went over all the possible things she could do with Blake and have them not be overly weird or awkward. Her brow furrowed slightly in her concentration, her mind quickly grabbing, assessing, and discarding ideas. Was going to watch a movie too weird for a first off meeting?

_‘Nah, it’ll be fiiiine.’_

“Something on your mind, Yang?”

Yang’s gaze snapped to Blake as she spoke, unaware that she had been walking silently for a few minutes.

“Wha-?”

“You look like something’s on your mind, do you mind my asking what it is?”

Yang shook her head, golden curls bouncing slightly, “No no, not at all. There’s this new movie that’s come out, Beauty and The Beast, seen it?”

Blake shook her head.

“Me neither, I thought we could check it out.”

The expression on Blake’s face was guarded, as though she was both hiding something and looking for something at the same time. She was on edge, nervous. Seeming to sense her mood, Yang gave her a reassuring smile,

“Hey, it’ll be great. I promise.”

Blake narrowed her eyes at her, and she suddenly felt as though she was being stalked by a predator, “I’m going to hold you to that.”

 

* * *

 

Yang’s winging of the evening was going rather well so far. They didn’t end up waiting for movie tickets for long, which gave them enough time to make it to the showing that had already started, and just in time to miss all the pre-show ads. Perfect. There were quite a few couples in the room, but they were a minority compared to the princess fans currently in attendance. There were a _lot_ of them. Blake had gone ahead to their seats while Yang had gotten popcorn and drinks. Both girls had eaten before going out, but it was the principal. For Yang, movies were never complete without popcorn and soda.

Doing her very best to navigate the dark theatre without dropping her delicious cargo, Yang made her way over to the back centre of the theatre. To her relief, Blake was still there.

_‘Of course she’s still here, why would she leave? Why am I even asking myself this?’_

She seated herself next to her companion, setting their movie snacks between them. Blake looked up as she sat down and gave her a wry smile. Yang noted that Blake really didn’t talk much, at all. Over the past forty minutes, Yang had done the majority of the talking. Like, almost 90 percent of it. Which was crazy for Yang, given that most of her friends, with the exception of Ren, would match her for conversation input. It was new, but not necessarily bad. Yang hadn’t made her mind up on that yet.

The movie began, in classic fashion with the opening logo and introductory exposition. As the film truly started, Yang had to admit, the remake did the cinematography and animation very, very well. It looked a little out of place in some spots but, overall, it was pretty good. Yang had seen better, given that Ruby insisted on keeping up with the latest superhero movies and action flicks, she saw films regularly.

From the looks of it, Blake didn’t watch movies regularly. Yang looked over at her and the raven-haired girl’s eyes were wide with amazement and wonder, like a little kid at a candy store. She hastily disguised the look when she noticed that Yang was watching her, assuming an aloof air. But the earlier emotions were not bottled away, Blake lasting only moments before whispering, “Are all movies this… good looking?”

Yang seriously considered the question, looking between the screen and Blake. With a flirtatious smile and a teasing tone, she winked at Blake, “Is it the movie that’s so good looking or the lead actress?”

It was too dark to make out whether or not Blake was blushing but, Yang liked to think she was, in her own head.

“The _movie._ ”

“Most of them are, haven’t you seen a movie before?”

Blake pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly, “Not in a long time.”

As the film progressed, Yang found herself moving on from stealing glances and just watching Blake more than the movie. She’d seen the old one and the remake was more of the same. Blake was a puzzle that Yang wanted to solve. The girl was a mystery, just waiting for someone to unravel it. Yang felt, intrinsically, that she could be that person.

_‘Either it’s me or it’s her soulmate…’_

Did Blake have a soulmate? Well, of course she did, everyone did, but does she know her soulmate? She hopes not. As much as her younger sister had the demeanour of a child most time’s, she did occasionally pull out great advice. Chasing Blake would get her mind off and over her soulmate debacle.

‘ _Yes, Blake looks almost exactly like her dream, and by dust she sounds the same,_ _but that’s not why I’m chasing her.’_

Truth be told, Yang had never met anyone like Blake. Her friends were all pretty open and cheerful like she was. But Blake was… distant most of the time. She was there in the moment, but removed from it somehow.

_‘I wonder if she’s like that always, or just around me?’_

Before she could follow through on that thought, her sharp lilac eyes picked up on something. Yang searched for it, methodically going over the last couple moments in her mind before she found did. Blake had frowned. In fact, now that she was really looking, Blake was telegraphing uncomfortableness. Given her gaze was fixed on the movie, Yang turned her own eyes towards the screen. It was one of the many parts where Belle was realising that the Beast’s vicious looking appearance was not a reflection of what he was like all the time. Sure, he had his bad moments, but everyone did.

Yang kept watching Blake, trying to gauge what was wrong. It wasn’t a particularly confronting part of the movie, and it was a relatively obvious plot point. Yang wasn’t sure what was bothering her companion, but she was appearing more and more decidedly uneasy. Her amber eyes were troubled, potentially hinting at a deeper problem just beneath the surface. Yang was always the one to help people if they were hurting or troubled by their past or their present situations. It wasn’t something she could help, just something that was natural to her. She _cared_ about those she knew.

_‘I want to help you.’_

_‘Let me help you.’_

Her thoughts kept running along possibilities of what could be bothering Blake, and the more she thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. She didn’t know her, _why_ was she so concerned? That reoccurring theme with Blake, how Yang found herself feeling so familiar with someone she didn’t know, it was beginning to irritate her, especially with her lack of viable answers.

Like the way the world was lit by the sun as it came out from behind the clouds, the reason for Blake’s clear uncomfortableness came to Yang. Lilac eyes widened as Blake shivered. Yang suddenly felt bad. She was a natural furnace, and hadn’t even registered the sharp drop in temperature inside the air-conditioned theatre that would undoubtedly be affecting Blake. Given the warmth outside and the improvised cinema idea, Blake hadn’t brought anything warm to wear, having not planned on cooler temperatures.

Keeping her voice low as to not disturb anyone else, Yang leaned over to Blake. She was 90% sure of her assessment, but she wanted to be certain. “Cold?”

Blake jumped ever so slightly, looking over at Yang, alarm in her eyes. It took her a couple moments to respond, though she did so without words, but with a short nod. Yang gave her a sincere, warm smile with a slight hint of playful mischievousness, “C’mere.”

She leaned over further, extending an arm out and wrapping it around Blake’s shoulders. Dust, the girl was positively icy compared to Yang. She felt Blake tense up in her arm, clearly not expecting the gesture. She opened her mouth to protest, but Yang beat her to it,

“Shh, you’re cold. This isn’t a discussion.”

With Blake secure in her arms, Yang turned her attention to the movie. Or at least, she tried to, but with Blake _in_ her arms, she was finding it harder than ever to not focus on the girl. Yang wasn’t known for her ability to say no to people, especially to cute people. Trying to get herself to not focus on someone as… attractive… as Blake when they were in her arms was like fighting a losing battle downhill towards a lake of lava. In short, it doesn't work.

There was just something about holding Blake, Yang couldn’t place it. It was indescribable, an unparalleled and incomparable experience. She wondered what this was, what _she_ was. Blake had to be some kind of supernatural being to have had this much sway over Yang this quickly. The blonde hadn’t thought it possible for anyone short of her soulmate to be this way, and, admittedly sadly, Blake wasn’t her soulmate.

_‘I wish she was though. That would make life so much easier.’_

Yang ‘s gaze shifted to Blake’s face, lilac eyes tracing every line and curve they found. No artist could have chiselled from stone, a better looking, more perfect face than the one she had eyes on. Her nose, cheeks, lips, and everything else on her face were all proportioned just right, and they assembled a sight that Yang would be okay with seeing every day.

Unconsciously, as her eyes had locked onto Blake’s lips, Yang started leaning closer. She was so close, but before she could do something unbelievably silly and potentially stupid, she realised what she was doing and hastily stopped. With her gave shifted rapidly back to the movie, she missed the flashes of emotion, including regret and sorrow, that flashed through Blake’s eyes.

Another twenty minutes passed, and Yang was certain that there was something else upsetting Blake. She was warm now, and her stiffened posture had long since relaxed, but she was still uncomfortable.

Yang leaned down again, moving her lips to Blake’s ear so she could speak clearly. She tried her best to ignore the softness of Blake’s hair and the tickling sensation her nose was getting. “Something else wrong? You look…” She trailed off, not sure exactly of what she wanted to say, but feeling her point was across anyway.

“Trust me Yang, I’m fine.”

Yang gave her a look that said ‘I know damn well you’re not fine but I can tell you don’t want to talk about this’. But Yang was Yang, and she couldn’t help the frown of concern that came over her features, “Are you sure?”

Blake gave her a reassuring nod, but her amber eyes spoke the truth, “I’m sure.”

“Blake I-.”

“Yang, stop. I don’t want to talk about it. Painful memories and… look can we just, not?”

Yang nodded solemnly, apologising quickly. She felt awful for pushing the point. Blake’s attempts at evasion should have been evidence enough.

_‘Round of applause for Yang Xiao Long.’_

They went back to the movie, Blake’s discomfort levels lowered as the night went on, and she seemed to not mind the arms around her shoulders given she hadn’t moved out of them yet. Subconsciously, Yang tightened her grip on the gorgeous owner of the amber eyes, her protective nature showing its face. She silently promised to make up for the pushing she’d done.

 

* * *

 

In Yang’s personal opinion, the night was far more than a stone’s throw from what she’d been hoping for. It was in many cases, a disaster, namely the unintentional bringing-up of Blake’s past pains.

_‘Good going Yang. Invite the her out so you can get to know her, wing a movie, and then make her think about painful memories.’_

But the fact that after four hours, Blake was still walking with her, was a sign of something indeed, Yang just didn’t know what yet. They’d both been quite for the last few minutes, walking silently, oddly comfortable in each other’s presence.

Yang felt extremely conflicted and confused. She’d known Blake for all of, well, four hours, why did she feel so… right around her? The question had been growing on her mind the longer they stayed silent, without conversation to distract her from her musings. Blake’s monotone voice had been playing havoc with her the entire evening. It was identical to the voice in her dream. Coincidences like that just didn’t happen. But then again, there was the panther eared Faunus she’d seen at Beacon, and Yang remembered being convinced she’d found her soulmate there, when she hadn’t.

_‘Guess I’m just the unluckiest soulmate in history. Never meeting anyone close to my soulmate would have been better than meeting people so close.’_

Blake cleared her throat, the sudden sound shaking Yang free of her introspection. She looked over at her raven-haired companion, expression curious.

“It’s… getting late. I should head home.”

Yang felt her heart fall a little at the news. Quickly, she halted the thoughts opting for reasoning over emotions. It had been four hours after all, and they did have classes the following day. She was only partially successful, her mind accepting the logic, but her heart stubbornly sticking to its chosen state.

“Oh, okay,” Yang struggled to keep the disappointment out of her voice. The mention of going home got Yang thinking of her own route, having to make the half hour trip on her bike. The thought of the beloved gold motorcycle gave Yang a brilliant idea.

“Do you live far? I could easily give you a lift.”

Her heart continued to sink as Blake shook he    r head, but the slight smile on the girl’s face quickly lifted it again.

“I’ve already got a pick-up, but thank you for the offer.”

“Well I’ll walk you to wherever you’re getting picked up.” Yang gave the slim girl her best sunny smile, almost lighting up the surrounding area.

“You don’t need to trouble yourself Yang I’m-.”

Yang cut Blake off before she could insist, “I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t make sure you got home safe.”

Blake tilted her head in a way that was completely, totally, and absolutely _not_ adorable, the hint of a frown troubling her face, “We’re friends now?”

Lilac eyes locked onto amber ones, albeit a little nervously. She thought Blake was enjoying the night, thought that they were getting along together. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Blake just really wanted to be anywhere but with Yang. She took a moment to rationalise, drawing a deep breath and exhaling in a long sigh. Blake probably just made friends slower than she did.

“I don’t know, are we?”

Blake pursed her lips thoughtfully, and Yang purposely focused on not mentally gauging how soft they were and all the different ways she could find out, namely with her own lips. Hey, it wasn’t her fault Blake was so alluring. The black-haired girl gave a short, quick nod in response, “Yes, we are.”

Yang smiled at her, one that reached from ear to ear and filled her eyes, “Awesome! Plus one friend!”

Blake couldn’t withhold a smile from stealing onto her face at the blonde’s joyous response, “You’re an idiot, Yang.”

“And I know it too.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Yang’s smile softened as she looked at Blake, the image of the girl’s smile burning itself into her mind. The way her lips curved delicately, the genuine happiness in Blake’s eyes. Amber eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight as Blake started walking to her designated pick-up location. Yang followed her, her legs moving on autopilot.

Much to her dismay, that divine smile vanished from her view, hidden. Yang had her own masks, she knew one when she saw it. Blake was hiding from something, and Yang was determined to find out what it was so she could help. The desire to help others was almost a compulsion, and the urgency that walked hand in hand with that had Yang scrambling for a reason to see Blake again.

Inspiration stuck Yang once again, like a lightning bolt. Another terrible idea.

“Hey Blake, my friends are throwing a party on Friday night, you wanna come?”

Blake’s lips pursed as she considered the idea, “I don’t think I have anything on…”

“Awesome, I’ll see you there then.”

“I never said yes.”

“You didn’t have to. You’ve been drafted… _Blakey_.”

A disgusted sigh escaped Blake as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “That sounds so much better over a text than in person.”

Yang gave her a reassuring smile, recognising the mock disgust and seeing the amusement telegraphed in Blake’s reaction. “So I’ll see you there?”

“Well you drafted me.”

“I’ll see you there.”

Blake gave a short nod, suddenly looking everywhere except Yang. Though before the blonde could ask her about it, her head snapped across, zeroing in on a car with a guy standing next to it. Yang had to admit, the guy was pretty good looking, and he evidently had no issues with his body, given the rather… tight fitting tee-shirt he was wearing. Sandy coloured hair, wide smile, light skin and blue eyes. Surprisingly, Yang caught sight of what looked like a monkey’s tail idly flicking around. He was a Faunus.

“He’s cute, know him?” She asked Blake, noting how the girl had very quickly picked him out at a distance.

“Yeah, that’s my pick-up.”

“Ooooh, wait, he’s not your soulmate is he?”

Once again that night, Blake practically choked on her own tongue, “Wha-? No!”

“Then is he single?”

Blake’s face turned into a hastily thrown up mask, but her eyes revealed a storm of emotions. Sadness, relief, and horror among them. How someone could feel all of those simultaneously Yang didn’t know. She couldn’t help it. The feeling bubbled up inside her chest, raced up her throat and exploded out into the night in the form of one of Yang’s trademark sunny traits, her laugh. It took her a few moments to subside, wiping a tear from her eye, “You should have seen your face.”

Blake scowled at her, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at her. “Are you done?”

Yang winked at her, “Yep.”

Blake kept scowling for a few more moments, before dropping the look in favour for her normal neutrality. “I’d best be going.”

_‘There goes that monotone voice again. All night with no break, every time she spoke… Dust why am I in love with your voice, Blake? This isn’t fair.’_

Yang nodded, acknowledging the night coming to an end. The feeling was strange, new, a mixture of disappointment and resignation. She took a moment to pride herself on her idea with the party invitation brought promise of future ‘hang outs’ with Blake.

She gave the girl a wave as she walked towards the car and her hot Faunus friend. Yang spun on her heel, walking away with a soft smile on her face towards the parking lot where she’d parked Bumblebee. Before she could forget, she pulled her scroll out and sent a very, _very_ , important text.

[hey nora i need u to throw  
a party nxt wknd k?]  
_21/03/17 10:54 PM_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me through that one. It's a nice bit longer than the last couple, which just means more bees.
> 
> Please leave me any criticism or praise you have, or even both! I love receiving them equally, and almost as much as I love you guys.


	8. Party Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a paartaaayah!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I would make excuses for why this is almost two months late but... I'll just let you all burn me. 
> 
> I hope you guys like it, I had a major writers block for it and lots of ideas for another fic which I will write, most likely after this one. I'll include a little sneak peak of that fic in the notes and the end of the chapter. Tell me what you guys think of it. I'd appreciate it. And you know me, that in that fic, and especially in that sneak peak, things are not what they seem.
> 
> P.S. I formatted more spaces between paragraphs. Tell me if you guys like it better than the way it was before. I also typed the majority of this chapter and posted and edited on a phone so, point out any autocorrect mistakes to me please.

The dull thudding of the music was a welcome comfort as it washed over her, the beat of the song matching the beat of her heart. Yang was completely at home in a crowd, especially one at a party. The music, the dancing, the people, it was the perfect environment for someone as outgoing as she was.

  
Yang made a point of showing up early to help Nora with the setup, given she got Nora to throw the party in the first place. She’d managed, skilfully, to avoid explaining why she had Nora throw the party, so far. Knowing the pint-sized girl, with five pints worth of energy crammed into her, for as long as she had, Yang had developed an almost sixth sense when it came to Nora’s whereabouts. Alarms would trip in her head whenever her friend got close to her.

  
Thankfully, ever understanding Ren was running interference for her, keeping Nora busy. Which, to be honest, wasn’t that hard for him to do. His soulmate was undeniably in love with him, all he had to do to capture her attention was stand nearby and she’d glue herself to his side, clinging to him like a monkey.

  
_‘Or rather… a sloth.'_

  
Yang was leaning against the wall, idly listening to the conversation around her. The party had been doing for a solid two hours at this point, and Yang had already talked to everyone currently present that she knew, as well as playfully flirted with a few of the guys around that she didn't know.

  
One such guy approached her, with tanned skin and a deep blue dyed hair, with a matching set of piercing blue eyes. Azure was his named and he was one of the better looking guys present.

  
“Why hello there, what's a pretty girl like you doing over here all by yourself?”

  
With a wide smile, Yang tossed her hair over her shoulders with one practiced, graceful flick of her head, “Waiting for someone to come make my night.”

  
His smile deepened, “Well then perhaps you're in luck, for I happen to be in the business of making people's nights.” He joked, revealing an easygoing nature to him. It certainly wasn't unattractive, to say the least.

  
“Is that so? And just how do you plan on doing that?”

  
“Well,” he began, his sentence being broken by a good natured chuckle, “I’d start by asking you if you wanted a drink and a dance. Then after that I thought we might talk a bit, get to… know each other.”

  
The sound of the front door opening and a questioning tone from a Nora-less Ren caused her eyes to curiously flick to the far side of the room, gazing past all the people. In through the door, looking as stunning as ever, even in plain clothes, was one Blake Belladonna.

  
Feeling her heart rate pick up along with the desire to go see Blake, Yang gave Azure a polite smile. “That sounds like a lot of fun, and I'm sorry but I've gotta run, the person’s here to make my night and I think that she's the one.”

  
_‘Wow… that rhymes…’_

  
Azure looked over his shoulder, spotting Blake as the newcomer to the party, then turned back to Yang. “She's turning heads, I can see why, though, you might have competition.”

  
Before Yang could question him, he tilted his head in the direction of the front door. Yang let her eyes follow the movement and noticed something that threw a wrench into her yet to be laid plans. Don't ask her what said plans were, she didn't know, just that there was now an attractive Faunus shaped wrench in them. For standing next to Blake, was none other than Sun.

  
Shooting Azure a thankful look, she went to moving through the crowd of people and over to the newcomers. Not close enough to be noticed, but close enough to try and gauge why exactly Sun was here.

  
_‘I mean is he just here as a friend? She might be nervous not knowing anyone… Or is there really something between them, and they sorted it through this week?’_

  
Not knowing was poking into her psyche like a thorn.

  
With a huff of frustration, she stalked off elsewhere in the party, opting to wait for a time to get Blake on her own. She wasn't sure why she desired the girl’s undivided, but she just did.

 

* * *

  
Once again that night, vibrant lilac eyes found themselves roving around Nora’s place, trying to locate a certain raven-haired someone. She spotted Sun in deep conversation with a few of the guys in attendance, Jaune among them. The two blondes appeared to be getting along amiably enough, though the environment of the party was throwing Jaune’s social… awkwardness… into the limelight a little. Pyrrha was keeping a close eye on him though, so he was safe.

  
Yang kept looking, her brain sorting through all the people she saw, efficiently matching those faces to the one in her mind. She saw Nora waving her arms around animatedly as she explained something, Ren correcting the details for the listeners as she spoke. She saw Coco and Velvet on one of the couches, arms intertwined, sharing a private moment. Velvet’s ears were flattened to her head with a cocoa brown beanie covering them to shield her from the loud music. It seemed to do the job.

  
_‘There.’_

  
Recognition flooded through her head as she found the subject that her thoughts so often turned to lately. Blake. She was standing off to the side of the party, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Yang quickly rose from her seat, heading over to her new friend, concerns already filling her mind.

  
She walked past the kitchen on her way over to Blake, spotting Nora in the kitchen. Somehow, in the span of about 3 seconds, the energetic turquoise-eyed devil had escaped Ren’s watchful gaze and was now grinning like a maniac. However, Yang didn’t have time to be concerned with Nora’s actions, as her mind was too preoccupied with Blake. But years of being the victim of many of Nora’s antics had developed Yang’s subconscious into a Nora specific Sherlock. Some part of her brain filed the information away, just in case.

  
Blake was looking at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. She jumped a little, and completely adorably at that, when Yang reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, 

“Hey, are you okay? You look a little…”

Yang trailed off, letting Blake fill in the gaps should she so desire. Yang sincerely hoped she would. It was very strange, and a little confronting to her sensibilities, that she should care so much for someone that she didn’t really know. In all seriousness, she’d known Blake for a week. Granted, that week had been filled with short text message conversations and a stream of images from Yang, who just had to add visuals to her stories.

  
Whilst Yang couldn’t hear her text partner’s voice, her own inner dialogue with Blake always had her friend speaking with her distinct monotone voice, sarcastic, dry sense of humour colouring her words in hues much like the girl dressed in. It was times like those that got particularly hard for Yang, her heart utterly convinced that Blake’s voice and the voice of her soulmate were the same, while her brain told her heart otherwise. Her soulmate is Faunus, Blake is human… right?

  
Yang snapped out of her brief reminiscing at the sound of, funnily enough, Blake’s voice. Instantly, her attention snapped to totally-not-her-soulmate.

  
“Yes I’m… fine.”

  
Let it be said that Blake wasn’t the most convincing liar.

  
“Uh huh. Spill it kitten, what's wrong?”

  
A part of her mind noted the look that flashed in Blake's eyes when she said ‘kitten’, filing it away as something to investigate later.

  
The music changed while they were speaking, becoming more base heavy, with a low, thudding drum beat that reverberated through the room. Blake almost winced with every beat of the drum, as though the sound waves were causing her physical pain.

  
_‘Wait… physical pain?’_

  
The idea clicked in her mind and suddenly everything made sense about the situation.

  
“Blake, is the music too loud?”

  
A diminutive nod was all the answer she needed.

  
“Blake! Why didn't you say so? Come on, let's go to the dining room. The walls are thicker there.”

  
Relief flooded Blake's face as she quickly followed Yang out of the room, fleeing from the music.

  
_‘That's adorable.’_

  
The music faded to more of a dull background noise, though it was still significant, and they weren't completely free of its effects, but it was good enough.

  
“There, is that better?”

  
Blake gave her a small smile and nodded, “Much better, thank you Yang. I have sensitive ears.”

  
_‘I love the way you say my name.’_

  
“No probs Blakey. Like I said, you looked uncomfortable, and I had to help. Speaking of which, you know what else you need? A drink, do you have one?”

She raised her own cup, which she'd had all night and only filled with soda, as an indication of what she meant by drink. Blake shook her head.

  
Yang shot her one of her blinding grins, “Try the fridge in the kitchen, through that door.”

  
“Thank you Yang, but I really-.”

  
“Come on, enjoy yourself a little, I promise it's not bad.”

  
Blake looked hesitant for a few more moments, before she let an uncertain smile creep onto her face.

  
She turned and began walking toward and into the kitchen, and Yang found herself following like a string that was tied to them both had just snapped taut. Her body moved of its own accord, weaving through the partygoers.

  
Sharp lilac eyes traced Blake’s path with unceasing energy, watching as she opened the fridge to get a drink. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind, a flash of white and its corresponding maniacal grin. She put two and two together, and then she was moving fast, weaving through the partygoers with practiced ease. Her pace quickened as the saw a pale skinned arm reach into the fridge to withdraw a bottle of beer. Yang knew better that to trust that bottle of beer, especially when it was in Nora's kitchen. With a final burst of speed, she cleared the distance between them, narrowly avoiding cannoning into the smaller girl.

  
In a feat of astounding dexterity, which was in all reality, just a brutal straight up grab, Yang ripped the bottle from Blake's grasp. After a moment of surprise at the violent movement, annoyed and surprised amber eyes turned on Yang.

  
The brawler felt herself starting to melt under those eyes.

  
Blake opened her mouth, body rigid, a scathing question undoubtedly on her tongue. Yang threw her hands up in the air in a preemptive defence, when suddenly there was a loud bang to her left, followed closely by a cry of dismay. Amber and lilac eyes unlocked from one another and slid to the source of the intrusive noise.

  
There was a guy standing there, drenched in beer from the opened bottle in his hand. In a magnificent display of liquid under pressure, someone had shaken the bottle up and when he opened it, he ended up wearing it. Blake looked from him, to the bottle in Yang’s hand, to Yang herself, then back to him, then back to Yang. Her eyes narrowed,  
“This wasn't you, was it?”

Yang shook her head emphatically, “No no, it wasn't me. I suspect Nora had something to do with it, promise.” Seeing Blake's still doubtful face, she extended her empty hand towards her, holding out her pinky finger, “Pinky promise.”

  
Blake looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then slowly Yang was rewarded with an amused half smile as amber eyes flicked from her lilac ones to her hand and back, “Really?”

  
“Really.”

  
_‘Dust she is just so entrancing.’_

  
Blake hesitantly reached out and wrapped her pinky around Yang’s.

  
Yang felt sparks.

  
Feeling a little bit flustered, Yang broke the contact, then covered by throwing her trademark grin on her face to try and turn the situation back into something she could work with. Flustered was something for others, not for the Little Sun Dragon. With her best flirtatious lol and tone, she took Blake by the hand and pulled her from the kitchen, “come on beautiful, there's a party on out there and we're missing it.”

  
The blush that crept up Blake's neck and spread to her cheeks did not go unnoticed by Yang, but the brawler felt it best not to mention or draw attention to it. At the present moment, Yang was only conscious of the hand currently clasped within her own. It was almost surreal, being here with Blake. Her mind just stuttered to a halt whenever she was around her, despite this being the second or third time they'd met. Whether the trend would continue or not, Yang didn't know, but she did fully intend to find out.  
“Where have they gone? They were here a second ago…”

  
Blake gave her a quizzical look, “where have who gone? Who are you looking for? Where are you dragging me?”

  
“Coco, Nora, and… aha! There they are.” Yang ignored the other question and still continued to tow her fiend around the smallish place. She found her circle of friends sitting in, well a literal circle. Before she could say anything, Nora had jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Yang, “You bring a friend her and you don't even introduce her to us?! I'm hurt, I'm shocked, I'm tipsy! That last one’s not your fault though.”

  
“Nora,” Yang began, one hand out to placate her friend whilst the other still held onto Blake for as long as it could, “I was just coming to do that. Nora, this is Blake. Blake, this is Nora, the craziest of this bunch.”

  
“And don't you forget it,” Nora piped in.

  
Blake gave a soft wave, which Nora promptly ignored and just went ahead and gave Blake one of her crushing hugs. Yang struggled to keep herself from laughing at the adorable horrified look that came over Blake's face. Her wide amber eyes seemed to say, ‘help me!’ It was actually Ren who saved her, gently pulling Nora off the stunned girl, apologising for his soulmates excessiveness.

  
The four of the sat down into the circle, joining the ring of friends. Yang noticed Blake sitting with quite a gap between them, and suddenly found herself wishing she could close it.

_  
‘Why can't you?’_

  
_‘Because it would be weird. You're not close enough for that.’_

_  
‘True, also, she has a soulmate so…’_

_  
‘Hold on when did soulmates come into this? You don't need to be her soulmate to be close to her. You think about soulmates too much Yang.’_

  
_‘But I want to be her soulmate.’_

  
_‘You have your own soulmate…’_

  
_‘She could be my soulmate, she fits my dreams, you know that.’_

  
_‘No she doesn't, no cat ears on her, remember?’_

  
_‘But there's the bow she's always wearing, that might be hiding ears…’_

  
_‘Don't be ridiculous.’_

  
Sometimes Yang’s inner dialogue surprised her. It weirdly felt like another person sometimes. It was an odd feeling, but she supposed everyone felt that way about their inner voices.

  
“Yang?! Is anybody home?!”

  
Whatever expression Yang was wearing on her face quickly vanished as the golden-haired brawler practically snapped to attention as her name was called out loudly. Coco was giving her a slightly concerned look.

  
“You okay, hot stuff?” Oum bless the girl who could out flirt Yang herself.

  
“Yeah,” Yang quickly said, “yeah I'm fine Coco, just zoned out.”

  
“You been drinking too much?”

  
Yang shook her head, “No, just soda.”

  
Coco grunted in acknowledgment before resuming her position next to Velvet. Yang glanced at Blake to catch the tail end of her concerned-mixed-with-curious gaze before her vision was obscured as someone sat in between them. Sun Wukong, Blake's plus one and seemingly, her best friend, or so she hoped. They started talking in hushed tones.

  
Her wandering thoughts were pulled to a close as Nora leaned forward with a scarily happy grin on her face, “Who's ready to play a game?”

  
Uh oh it was that time of the night then. The time of the oh so fun party games. What these games were and what rules are used were often left to the whims of the energetic pint-sized redhead leading the gang. A familiar sinking feeling made itself known in the pit of her stomach as Nora pulled out an empty glass bottle.  
So… this was how it ends then… death by embarrassment from whatever insane game Nora came up with.

  
A few of those gathered in the circle, which was placed as far from the music speakers as possible on account of Velv’s ears, groaned. Many had been the victim of Nora's often erratic rules. Embarrassment was the least of their problems if Nora was in the… appropriate mood. Thankfully, the trademark manic grin that adorned Nora's face every time she was about to pull crazy rules out, wasn't there. It seemed as though she was in a sensible mood tonight.

  
_‘Thank Oum for that, I don't think I have the mental fortitude to withstand getting embarrassed, or worse, in front of Blake.’_

  
Once again, as with most spare moments over the past week, she found herself zoning out and thinking about a certain amber eyes beauty. It was simultaneously infuriating and captivating, how much she thought about this mystery girl. The one she was dead set on unravelling.

  
_‘Just why do you take up so much of my thoughts, Blake Belladonna?’_

  
Not even her soulmate dreams had managed to take up so much of… well… her. It was amusingly confusing, profoundly confounding. It made her head spin just thinking about it. Just what was this light fluttery feeling in her chest?

  
Yang didn't give herself time to dwell on the matter, determined not to be caught out again. Instead, she forced herself to focus on Nora.

  
“Alright, rules are this way. I spin this bottle, and whoever it lands on gets to tell whoever it lands on second, what to do. It can be anything, and I mean anything.”

  
Nora cackled as she set the bottle down and spun it with a deft flick of her finger. The bottle became a blur of spinning glass, gradually slowing down over a few seconds, coming to rest on Nora herself.  
“Ooooh, isn't this exciting?”

  
No one really wanted to answer her at that point, they were all too concerned thinking about what she would ask them if the bottle landed on them.

  
Seconds stretched and felt like days as Nora spun the bottle a second time.  
Yang felt her heartbeat start pounding in her ears in anticipation. Every revolution of the bottle took up far more time than was fair, and Yang already wished it was over already.

  
Agonising, the whole group watched with held breaths to see who the bottle would stop spinning on, all praying it wasn't them. With a dull rattle, the glass arrested its sideways spinning momentum and stopped, oscillating slightly.

  
It was pointing straight at Yang.

  
_‘Oh dust…’_

 

* * *

   
Yang found herself surrounded by black, her mind sluggishly moving around and trying to make sense of what was around her. Something soft, something that feels like sheets. Cracking an eye open, a bloodshot lilac eye looked around the room.

  
Like a bolt of lightning, she realised she couldn't remember anything of the night before after the bottle had landed on her. In a panic, she abruptly sat up in bed with strangled cry. The cry turned to a moan of pain as she was overcome with nausea. Apparently, her extreme hangover didn't agree with sudden movement, or movement at all.

  
She was thankful for the closed blinds, else the light of day would likely have blinded her. She could still see a little in the low light. Her boots had been set by the door in a neat pair, very unlike her. There was also something that looked like a folded piece of paper on a bedside table.

  
Many questions rose to the fore of her mind, but one stood out above the rest.

  
_‘What exactly happened last night?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so very much for reading. 
> 
> Please leave any and all criticism or praise in the comments.
> 
> Sneak peak time:
> 
> Sound surrounded her ears. Voices melding together to create an encompassing background. She looked around at all those around her. Cooks, tailors, smiths, and armourers. Farriers, farmers, and shepherds over by the horse lines and stockyards. Huntsman and Huntresses, going to and from the camps on various assignments. But mostly, there were soldiers. Thousands and thousands of soldiers.
> 
> Of course, soldiers are what you would expect when walking through an army camp, and after all, this was the army. The United Defence Force of Remnant, or just UDF. 
> 
> As she made it further into the centre of the camp, the concentrations of soldiers grew. Tents were pitched in neat rows, extending for hundreds of meters in all directions, pennants and flags flying from their stay ropes. Most were escaping the heat of their tents, and were outside, sitting in groups playing cards or talking. A few groups were wrestling or sparring. A band of children ran between the tents, laughing and yelling as they played an imaginary game, attracting the attention and chuckles of nearby soldiers. 
> 
> All the colours were mixed. She remembered when they weren't. Back when this war started, when the four kingdoms refused to even camp together. Now, three years on, it was like they were one army, one kingdom, with four uniforms. 
> 
> 'No, five. Five uniforms.' She corrected herself mentally. 
> 
> She allowed herself a small smile as she pictured that day. She wasn't there when it happened, but she remembered reading the report. 
> 
> 6 months into this bloody war, during the Second Battle of Mistral. The city had been under a losing battle for weeks. Mountain passes and other engagements were preventing and hampering reinforcements from reaching the battered and weary Mistralian defenders. The force left behind to protect the city was all but spent. The Grimm assault never ceased. They endlessly pounded away at the walls, every passing day claiming more soldiers. They were down to a tenth of the initial force, barely 200 men and women. Help had come from where they least expected it. Menagerie. The Faunus of Menagerie had come to Mistral's aid, beating the Grimm back, finding paths though mountains previously thought impassable. The news had shocked her as well as everyone else. Many didn't believe it. They believed it after 3 of the Faunus regiments had showed up at their base camp, battle scarred, but alive and kicking. 
> 
> Brown, gold, and red trim marked the Mistralian Dragoons. Russet brown and emerald green raiment marked the Rangers hailing from Vale. Atlesian Specialists and soldiers were clad in their iconic ice blue and white with accents of black. Vacuo stood out with bold blue and sunbaked sand with their gold trim. Lastly, the Faunus who made up the regiments from Menagerie were wearing old White Fang uniforms, from when the organisation was still peaceful, as a statement against the remaining White Fang Cells still aiding Salem. 
> 
> She came up to the command tent, a large, royal red colour, deep and bold. Prototype shielding technology from SDC's RND department protected the heart of the camp, along with several Atlesian Paladin's and a rotating guard squad. One of the guards approached her, about to call for her identification, when he stopped, recognising her. With a salute, he stepped back into line. 
> 
> "Proceed in ma'am." 
> 
> She gave him a polite nod as she entered, pushing aside the flaps and suddenly getting buffeted by a blast of cool air. With the sun just shy of its zenith, the heat inside the tent should be sweltering. Her confusion disappeared a few moments later though, as her gaze fell on one of the occupants in the room. 
> 
> With her iconic family crest across the back of her clothes, a stylised white, ice blue, and black accented combat uniform, Weiss Schnee struck a commanding pose. Myrtenaster was belted at her side, the legendary rapier in excellent condition. Her face was hard, her ice blue eyes staring at a strategic map of Remnant, analysing the war. 
> 
> She looked every bit the hero people knew her to be, with a weapon almost as famous as she was. But those who really knew her were always struck with sorrow when they took deeper notice of Myrtenaster, for if one looked closely and long enough, one would notice the shining, silver emblem of a rose that adorned the belt. 
> 
> That emblem mattered more to Weiss than Myrtenaster did. 
> 
> Huntress Weiss Schnee looked over her shoulder, sensing someone watching her. The annoyed and threatening look in her eyes evaporated instantly when she saw who it was. 
> 
> "Oh, hello Blake." 
> 
> She turned fully around and embraced her Faunus teammate warmly. "It's good to see you." She said with a smile
> 
> Blake smiled in return, "It's good to see you too Weiss."


	9. Coffee and Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang finds out what went down last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> That's right, I'm back!
> 
> I firstly want to apologise for the absolute crime of how long this update has been, and for the shortness of the chapter.
> 
> Secondly I want to thank everyone who left me well wishes and continued to read and like this story. Reading your comments I was heartened and warmed, then felt awfully guilty at having not updated. 
> 
> I can promise that from now on there will not be such a gap between chapters. This was the one that had me completely stuck, and then life got in the way. I'm very happy to say life is very much less in the way now. I got through the end of my first year of uni, moved out of a house that was less than great for me, and, to top it all off, I have started transition, which is awesome!
> 
> Anyway, point is, I'm in a much better head space for writing and I'm making my return. I hope you all enjoy what is to come.

The letters sat on their white plane, glaring at her, boring into the side of her head. With a soft groan, she turned her bloodshot gaze on the resolute handwriting neatly scrawled next to her.

 

‘ _Yang_ ’, they read, in a cursive, loopy handwriting. It was beautiful. She unfolded the paper, reading the neat script inside.

 

_‘Yang, I hope you’re not feeling too nauseous. After the party games, you were quite drunk so I took you home._

 

_Blake.’_

 

Yang folded it back and lay the note on her chest, leaning back and closing her eyes. Her thoughts drifted instantly to her black-haired, golden-eyed beauty of a friend.

 

_“Blake…”_

 

So, Blake took her home. Remembering to call her and thank her would have to be one of Yang’s top priorities today. She felt a swell of emotions rise in her as the gesture ran through her mind. Happiness, gratitude, and relief chief among them.

 

A wave of nausea washed over her; a pained groan splitting the air. A moment later, she heard the door open and looked through bloodshot eyes to see an angel walk in.

 

_‘Well… not quite an angel, but Blake... Blake is an angel though.’_

 

Some notable sarcastic comments flashed through her mind.

 

_‘Okay, so, definitely not an angel… But Blake’s gorgeous.’_

 

Speaking of the gorgeous girl, she had walked up to Yang, concern in her amber eyes.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

Yang blinked slowly and groaned again, the throbbing becoming more prevalent. The corners of Blake’s lips twitched upwards.

 

“I see… Do you need anything?”

 

_‘Only to hear that enchanting voice of yours forever.’_

 

Unfortunately for Yang, in her hungover state, all she could croak out was, “Coffee.”

 

A soft chuckle flitted through the air. “I know a place.”

 

* * *

 

Okay so, perhaps allowing herself to be drawn into one of Nora’s party games hadn’t been her _best_ idea of late. Her head still pounded and the soft morning light that came through the café windows still hurt her eyes. Yang groaned, staring at the dark wood of the table she’d been seated at. The note Blake had written her was folded neatly and sat in the pocket of her jeans, flush against her body. She was hyper aware of it, and it did strange things to her feelings.

 

Speaking of things that did strange things to her feelings, the biggest one pulled out the chair opposite her with a smooth motion and sat down. A cup of coffee was placed in front of Yang, and a cup of coffee kept for herself.

 

Bloodshot lilac eyes shot up to meet golden ones. She groaned softly as the abrupt action caused a rush of pain to pound through her head. Blake smirked in amusement, but her eyes flickered with concern. Blake reached over and pushed the coffee towards her,

 

“Drink.”

 

Blake got a strangled noise of protest from Yang as she reached for the cup, wrapping her hands around it. The heat from the fresh brew diffused through the ceramic and warmed her hands. Amusement glinted in her friend’s eyes as her smirk became a smile.

 

Oh how badly Yang wanted to know what was going on in that head of hers. What was thinking? How does she see the world? If she saw bluer skies or a more vivid green in the trees? A thought nagged in the back of her mind, a memory of when they saw Beauty and The Beast, of how the Beast’s _beast_ ly appearance wasn’t a true reflection.

 

‘ _I wonder what she’s hiding?’_

 

_‘I’m getting ahead of myself. I should really stop thinking myself into these things…’_

 

It seemed Blake picked up on the fact Yang had completely zoned out, and was watching her with a quizzical expression, head tilted slightly and eyes focused. Yang smiled apologetically at the unspoken question.

 

“Sorry, just spaced for a moment.”

 

A small smile graced Blake’s lips and Yang’s heart did a weird little flip in her chest.

 

“That’s alright.”

 

“Thank you so much for getting me home. I have no idea what was in whatever it was I drank but, I have many regrets.”

 

A low-pitched chuckle reached her ears, “It’s okay Yang, anyone would have done the same.”

 

“Not _everyone_ , but still, thank you.”

 

Blake simply nodded in response this time, sipping her tea. Yang watched her, slowly finding the light less of an inconvenience. The coffee was slowly combating the pounding and the pain, her headache steadily lessening. Coffee was a good idea.

 

The longer Yang watched Blake, the more questions she came up with. What was Blake’s fondest memory? What are her parents like? What is her favourite ice cream flavour? Was she a cat person or a dog person?

 

_‘She’s definitely a cat person.’_

 

A moment fell over her where she couldn’t think of anything to say. For all the questions swimming in her head, not a single one found it’s way to her tongue. Nothing jumped up as _the_ question to ask Blake in this moment. Yang found herself floundering for something to say, a decidedly odd feeling creeping up her spine. She always knew what to say. She was always the one with a joke or a topic to lead the way with. Take charge. But with Blake, she felt her tongue going slack.

 

Gradually, one question worked its way to the forefront of her mind; the first question of the day.

 

“So, what actually happened last night?”

 

Well whatever it was, Yang suddenly didn’t regret it as much when a mirthful smile graced Blake’s face.

 

_‘You are such a marshmallow, Yang Xiao Long.’_

 

“Well,” her friend began, “There was a dare, which you refused to do. As punishment, Nora broke out something called…” Blake trailed up, brow creasing slightly as she sifted through her memories of the night to recall the name, “Starshine surprise?”

 

Yang felt herself break into a smile at the slight raising of Blake’s voice at the alcohol name. Somehow it was utterly adorable to her.

 

_‘Oh no. You’re so gone. You’re so into this girl. She’s just so… so… effortlessly captivating. Her shadowy aura, that beautiful smile, those eyes. It’s definitely the eyes. I mean they’re so gold and so mysterious, like there’s a treasure trove of secrets and-.’_

 

“Yang?”

 

Yang snapped upright, “Huh?!”

 

A small laugh lept across the space between them.

 

“You spaced again.”

 

Yang felt her cheeks start to burn in embarrassment. The last thing she wanted was Blake to think she was uninterested in her, because that was the absolute, complete opposite of what was true. Yang couldn’t get enough of her new friend who she totally didn’t want to be more than friends with.

 

The name of the alcohol rang a distant bell in her mind, but she couldn’t quite recall the exact memory. She looked at Blake with a level of morbid curiosity, “I didn’t do anything stupid last night, did I?”

 

“Well…” A strange look crossed Blake’s face, but Yang couldn’t decipher it. It was quickly hidden.   
“I don’t know your stance on… girls but, you ended up…” She trailed off.

 

Yang felt horror growing in her heart.

 

_‘Oh, you idiot. You did not!’_

 

“Oh no…”

 

Blake looked at her with that same strange look, “Don’t worry, it wasn’t bad, per se, you just ended up lip-locked with one of the girls at the party and vanished for a bit...” She shook her head, as though to clear it, “I don’t know who.”

 

“I…”

 

Something that resembled pity stole into her friend’s eyes, “If it helps, you looked miserable afterwards.”

 

“It doesn’t.”

 

_‘You absolute idiot, Yang. How are you going to recover from this?’_

 

Sometimes, Yang hated her internal voice’s ability to really make situations feel worse.

 

_‘Go away.’_

 

Blake just nodded and pursed her lips, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Yang let out a groan as she let herself sink until her head hit the table. She twisted and looked out the window, eyes taking in the light of the morning. Practically feeling the gaze of her friend burning into her, Yang decided a change of scenery was in order.

 

Downing the remainder of her coffee in one go, Yang stood up and looked at Blake with a sun-filled smile. It may have been forced, but Yang hoped that fact would go by anyone who looked. Impulsively, she held a hand out to Blake,

 

“Come on, let’s go for a walk. Get some fresh air.”

 

Her friend simply nodded, finishing the last mouthful of her tea, she took Yang’s hand, but then dropped it immediately. Yang felt her heart drop with it; she internally growled at herself for being so stupidly attached so quickly.

 

* * *

 

The feeling still hadn’t gone away by the time the sun had gone past its zenith and Yang unlocked her front door, dropping her keys on the kitchen counter and softly kicking the door shut behind her. The familiar feeling of home washed over her, and she closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

 

_‘Well, it wasn’t a complete disaster.’_

 

A hollow laugh found its way out of her chest at the thought. She’d thoroughly sabotaged any future romantic relations with Blake, and Yang would be lying to herself if she said she hadn’t thought about kissing the amber-eyed girl. More than once. The only question that remained now was; could she recover the situation? Granted, she’d made a little headway with their walk, making an effort to show she was really interested in what Blake said, and not spacing like she was doing in the café.

 

“Well that doesn’t sound good.”

 

Yang looked up, finding Ruby leaning against the wall in the hallway just before their kitchen. She gave her a tender smile in greeting,

 

“Hey Rubes.”

 

“Rough night?”

 

Yang nodded.

 

“I’d guessed. I was still up when Blake knocked on the door with you. You were… very out of it.”

 

“Drunk, you mean.”

 

“Yes but, I thought you might like ‘out of it’ better.”

 

Yang walked over to Ruby and wrapped her in a big hug. She felt her sister slip her arms around her in reciprocation.

 

“Thanks for being you, Ruby.”

 

She felt her sister laugh, “Well who else would I be?”

 

Yang had no response to that, simply nodded in agreement. Ruby pulled away and fixed her in her silver gaze,

 

“So, Blake brought you home huh?”

 

The slowly spreading smile on Ruby’s face, with the definite teasing tone left absolutely no doubt in Yang’s mind that her sister wasn’t going to let this go easily. She gave a groan of despair,

 

“Oh I messed it up so badly!”

 

Ruby raised an eyebrow, “Oh no, what happened?”

 

Yang glared at her with mock annoyance, the smile still on her sister’s face.

 

“No like, I really messed up. I got drunk and …errr… with some girl at Nora’s party and I’ve got no idea who it was but Blake saw and now I’ve messed up chances with-.”

 

“Oh, so you _are_ interested in going out with her. That didn’t take long.”

 

“Shut up, you! I have serious problems right now.”

 

Ruby nodded slowly as she walked over to the couch, gesturing for Yang to follow. She did, following along while her mind struggled to find solutions to the problem she’d created for herself. Ruby sat down, pulling her legs up and folding them under herself, half sitting on them, leaning against the back of the couch. Yang sat across from her, back to the side of the couch and her knees pulled up.

 

“So,” her sister began, “You’re worried that you’ve ruined your chances with your very pretty new friend who you absolutely want to be more than friends with. Oh, don’t give me that look, you know it’s true.”

 

Yang couldn’t really deny anything her sister said, as much as she wanted to. The smugness on Ruby’s face wasn’t helping either, “Yeah, you’ve got that right.”

 

“Thank you. So, you slipped up, and knowing you, you probably went on about how it was a mistake and you didn’t mean to do it, correct?”

 

Yang nodded, the sinking feeling in her stomach worsening as she realised just what she said and how she had said it. “Correct…”

 

“Which means, not only does Blake think you’re not into her specifically, she thinks you might have an issue with girls being with girls in general.”

 

A groan sounds through the room as Yang’s forehead hit her knees, “I thought you were supposed to make me feel better.”

 

“I am. But you need to realise what you’re working with. That’s your problem, so solve it. Show her, either directly or indirectly, that you’re absolutely fine with girls being with girls, that you are into her, and that you do want to date her. Actually, ask her out. Who knows, maybe it’ll go well?”

 

It was the best she could do really, try to explain things directly. It was the most sure-fire way to fix the misunderstandings she had caused, but it wasn’t the smoothest. It _was_ the most effective way, and it was what Yang was going to do. If she had to work harder to get to where she wanted to be with Blake, then that’s what she would do, but she would fix this swiftly first.

 

“You’re right, thanks Ruby, you’re my best sister.”

 

“I’m your only sister.”

 

Yang laughed, grinning at Ruby, her lilac eyes soft as she looked at the smaller girl. “How do you feel about lunch?”

 

“Can it involve cookies?”

 

“Yes, Ruby, it can involve cookies.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to you all for sticking with me this far. There were a lot of times in the hiatus I thought I wouldn't be able to pick this story back up again yet here I am. I hope you liked it!


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